Marilyn Maye in the Theater

Marilyn Maye is a highly praised singer, actress, director, arranger, educator, a Grammy nominated recording artist and a musical treasure. Her entire life has been committed to the art of song and performance.

The award-winning Ms. Maye appeared 76 times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - the record for a singer. Perhaps the simplest Marilyn Maye accolade came after one of her show-stopping appearances on The Tonight Show when turning to his audience of millions, Johnny Carson said, “And that, young singers, is the way it's done.”

Marilyn began her professional singing career by winning a 13-week appearance on radio station WIBW, Topeka, Kansas, at age 9. She has been committed her entire life to the art of song and performance. During her eleven-year engagement at the Colony in Kansas City, she was "discovered" by Steve Allen who was the first to present her various times to a national television audience. The Steve Allen performances led her to an RCA recording contract.

Her RCA recordings consist of seven albums and 34 singles, including the first hit recordings of “Cabaret” and “Step to the Rear.” Her album with full orchestra, The Lamp is Low, is considered a classic.

Her place in American music history was assured when the Arts Council of the Smithsonian Institution selected one of her recordings, “Too Late Now” for the Smithsonian-produced album of the 110 Best American Compositions of the Twentieth Century.

Her many symphony concert appearances around the United States, include the Florida Symphony, The Philly Pops, The Phoenix Symphony, The Kansas City Symphony, The Omaha Symphony, and in June, 2015, The Pasadena Symphony, Michael Feinstein conducting. Her two appearances with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall for tributes to Stephen Sondheim and Frank Loesser.

These two performances received show-stopping applause and rave reviews."

Her more than 100 engagements in the last nine years in New York include; sold-out multiple-nights at the Metropolitan Room, Birdland, five two-week runs at Feinstein's at The Loews Regency Hotel, New York's Town Hall, the 92nd Street Y Theater. She presented Marilyn Maye, “Her Way”, A Salute to Sinatra - her fifth appearance at 54 Below, April, 2015 - an 8-day engagement was received by standing-room-only audiences.

Host or Publisher Birdland Jazz Club