Mary Harris | |
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Background information | |
Born | Oakland, California, U.S. |
Instruments |
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Years active | 1976–present |
Labels |
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Website | www |
Mary Harris is an American keyboardist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. Since 2012 she has performed as a member of the band Ambrosia. As a member of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band she arranged vocals and sang on recordings and live performances, and has worked with Stewart Copeland and Stanley Clarke, and recorded for Pink Floyd. She is also a founding member of the group Tin Drum, along with her husband and musical partner Burleigh Drummond, who also performs with her in Ambrosia.
Harris began playing piano at age four, starting formal lessons at age five. She grew up from early childhood in the town of Three Rivers, California, where she performed from age ten on with family members locally.
Harris' first paying music performances were with bands including Oak Grove and Fair Game in Three Rivers in the seventies and early eighties. She moved to Los Angeles, California in 1982.
Harris became well known for her singing and vocal arranging with Jimmy Buffett as a long-time member of the Coral Reefer Band. [1] [2] She joined Buffett's band on the recommendation of Coral Reefer Band singer Brie Howard. [3] Harris has performed and recorded with numerous notable music acts including Stewart Copeland, and Stanley Clarke in the band Animal Logic [4]
Harris joined the progressive rock group Ambrosia in 2012 as a full-time member, and is currently active in touring, composing and recording with the band, which includes her husband and Ambrosia founding member Burleigh Drummond.
Besides Ambrosia, Harris and Drummond perform together onstage in California with two other groups: their own band Tin Drum, formed in the 1990s, which has released three albums to date, and Bill Champlin's Wunderground, since 2018. [5] [6]
James William Buffett was an American singer-songwriter. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapism" and promoted enjoying life and following passions. Buffett recorded many hit songs, including those known as "The Big 8": "Margaritaville" (1977), which is ranked 234th on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Century"; "Come Monday" (1974); "Fins" (1979); "Volcano" (1979); "A Pirate Looks at Forty" (1974); "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (1978); "Why Don't We Get Drunk" (1973); and "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" (1977). His other popular songs include "Son of a Son of a Sailor" (1978), "One Particular Harbour" (1983), and "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" with Alan Jackson (2003). Buffett formed the Coral Reefer Band in 1975.
Ambrosia is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1970. Ambrosia had five Top 40 hit singles released between 1975 and 1980, including the Top 5 hits "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part of Me", and Top 20 hits "You're the Only Woman " and "Holdin' on to Yesterday". Most of the original band members have been active with the group continuously since their 1989 reformation to the present day, with the notable exception of original guitarist and lead vocalist David Pack who left in 2000.
Animal Logic is a band formed in 1987 by drummer Stewart Copeland, bassist Stanley Clarke, and singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. The group recorded two albums under the auspices of manager Miles Copeland III before disbanding.
Son of a Son of a Sailor is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was initially released in March 1978 as ABC Dunhill AA-1046 and later re-released on its successor label, MCA.
The Coral Reefer Band is the touring and recording band of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. The band's name alludes to both coral reefs and "reefer".
Nadirah Shakoor is an American singer, songwriter and recording artist. She is best known for her work as featured female vocalist in Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, in the hip hop group Arrested Development and for her solo albums. She has one Grammy nomination.
Live at Fenway Park is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It is one of a number of Jimmy Buffett sound board live albums recorded directly from the mixing console without further editing, in this sense resembling bootleg recordings.
Michael Edward Utley is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and musical director for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band.
Live in Auburn is a live album by the American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and is one of number of Jimmy Buffett sound board live albums recorded directly from the mixing console without further editing, thus resembling bootleg recordings.
Margaritaville Cafe: Late Night is the name of a series of three compilation albums by singers and bands that performed at various Margaritaville Cafes, commercial ventures of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. The first two albums, Margaritaville Cafe: Late Night Menu and Margaritaville Cafe: Late Night Gumbo feature studio recordings including three and two songs respectively by Buffett. The third album, Margaritaville Cafe: Late Night Live, was recorded live at Margaritaville Cafe New Orleans and is credited to Club Trini, a duo of Michael Utley and Robert Greenidge, two members of Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, with other Coral Reefers such as Nadirah Shakoor. Buffett also appears on the album.
Robert Greenidge is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborated with artists such as Robert Palmer, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Taj Mahal, Ringo Starr, Earth, Wind & Fire and Carly Simon.
Live by the Bay is a 1986 direct-to-video concert film of American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. It was released in 1986 by MCA Entertainment. The 87-minute film was recorded from back to back concerts in Miami, Florida on August 16 and 17, 1985, at Miami Marine Stadium and is the first concert video released by Buffett. Miami Vice star Don Johnson introduced Buffett to the crowd. A brief rain shower during the middle of the Friday night show prompted Buffett to retreat to his sailboat and caused a majority of the final video release to feature the Saturday night show. After the rain cleared on Friday, the band played Little Feat's "Dixie Chicken" to demonstrate the equipment still functioned before Buffett returned to the stage.
Floridays is the fifteenth album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in June 1986 as MCA 5730 and was produced by Coral Reefer Band member Michael Utley and recorded and mixed by Jay Rifkin. The title of the album is taken from the 1941 poetry collection of the same name by Don Blanding. The album marks the end of Buffett's shift toward a more country sound that characterized his previous two releases and a return to a sound closer to that of his late 1970s and early 1980s output. The album features a wider variety of musical instruments than was typical for Buffett's previous works, notably several songs with strings and horns. His daughter Savannah Jane Buffett is credited for playing mini-conga on the album. It was also his last studio album to feature Jimmy Buffett's trademark mustache, before he shaved it off for the next album Hot Water in 1988.
Hot Water is the sixteenth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in June 1988 by MCA 42093 and was produced by Coral Reefer Band members Michael Utley, Russell Kunkel, and Ralph MacDonald. The album was engineered and mixed by Jay Rifkin. The album was Jimmy's first album recorded at his new studio in Key West, Florida called Shrimpboat Sound. The LP continues Buffett's use of a wide variety of musical instruments than was typical for Buffett's earlier works, notably horns and percussion. Buffett shaved off his trademark mustache for the album.
Off to See the Lizard is the seventeenth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. Initially to be called Stranger than Fishing, it was released in June 1989 as MCA 6314 and was produced by Elliot Scheiner and Buffett. The album is the first to feature much of the Coral Reefer Band. Following the release of this album, Buffett paused his normal output of one album every year or two and did not release another album until 1994's Fruitcakes.
Feeding Frenzy: Jimmy Buffett Live! is a live album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was initially released in October 1990 as MCA 10022. It is the second of Buffett's many live albums.
Fruitcakes is the eighteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. Initially to be called Quietly Making Noise, the album was released in May 1994. It was Buffett's first studio recording since Off to See the Lizard (1989), with its five-year gap being the longest between two albums in his career. Buffett had used the hiatus to focus on writing books such as Tales from Margaritaville (1989) and Where Is Joe Merchant? (1992).
Tropical rock is a genre of popular music that incorporates elements and influences of rock, reggae, country, folk, calypso, zydeco, and pop music, with themes and musical compositions inspired by an island style.
Buffett Live – Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays is a live album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on November 9, 1999. The album's material was culled from several concerts during the Don't Stop That Carnival Tour (1998) and Beach House on the Moon Tour (1999). It was the first live album by Buffett since Feeding Frenzy was released in October 1990 and Mailboat Records' debut release.
Burleigh Drummond is an American drummer, percussionist, producer, songwriter, and singer. He is a founding member and the only drummer/percussionist for the five-time Grammy Award nominated band Ambrosia. He performs onstage in the band with his wife and fellow band member Mary Harris, and the couple are also both active members of Bill Champlin’s Wunderground and their own band Tin Drum.