Queen Esther Marrow | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Queen Esther |
| Born | (1941-02-12)February 12, 1941 (age 84) Newport News, Virginia, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul,R&B,gospel,jazz |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Labels | Fantasy, Open Door,Edel, Chordant, Intershow,Flying Dutchman |
| Website | queenesthermarrow |
Queen Esther Marrow (born February 12, 1941) is an American soul and gospel singer.
Queen Esther Marrow was born inNewport News, Virginia. She began her career at the age of 22, when her vocal gifts were discovered byDuke Ellington[1] and made her debut as a featured artist in his "Sacred Concert" world tour. Marrow and Ellington formed a long-life friendship during the next four years while touring together. Queen has since performed with such musicians asLena Horne,Ella Fitzgerald,B.B. King,Ray Charles,Thelonious Monk,Chick Corea andBob Dylan.
In 1965, Marrow became active in thecivil rights movement when she performed in Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.’sWorld Crusade. There she met her lifetime idolMahalia Jackson, with whom she would later share the stage.[2] Other political activists on the crusade wereJesse Jackson,Sidney Poitier and Dr.Ralph Abernathy.
Marrow was also involved in musical theater, jazz, television and film. She played Auntie ‘Em on Broadway inThe Wiz, and was featured in several other Broadway shows includingComin’ Uptown,Nice To Be Civilized, and she starred as her idolMahalia Jackson in the national tour ofSing Mahalia Sing, directed byGeorge Faison. Marrow was featured in Motown’s filmThe Last Dragon, produced byBerry Gordy. Her many television appearances have ranged from the serious to the comic. They includeDuke Ellington: The Music Lives On, as Oscar the Grouch’s mother inSesame Street onPBS andNew York to Paris with The Harlem Gospel Singers, also on PBS. In 1990, a dream of Marrow’s came true whenTruly Blessed, a musical about Mahalia Jackson written by and starring Queen Esther, was performed inSan Francisco,Washington, D.C., and inNew York City on Broadway. The musical received threeHelen Hayes nominations including Best New Play.[3]
Marrow has performed for PresidentsRonald Reagan,George H. W. Bush, andBill Clinton and done a command performance for the British Royal Family. She sang at the Vatican forPope John Paul II[4] several times.
Most recently she founded The Harlem Gospel Singers, an international touring gospel group. The group with their popularity at an all-time high made history on July 7, 1998, as the only gospel group ever to perform the Grand Evenement du Maurier (grand event) at theMontreal Jazz Festival, drawing over 100,000 audience members.[5]
In 2015, Marrow was the only performer from the original 1965 performance of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert to also perform at the 50th anniversary performance atGrace Cathedral, San Francisco.[6][7]
| Year | Award | City |
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| 2006 | Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey Lifetime Achievement Award[8] | Newport News, VA |
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