Marion Worth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marion Worth | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mary Ann Ward |
| Also known as | Marion Worth |
| Born | July 4, 1930 |
| Origin | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Died | December 19, 1999 (aged 69) |
| Genre(s) | Country, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Piano, Guitar |
| Years active | 1959–1999 |
| Label(s) | Cherokee Records Columbia Records Decca Records |
| Associated acts | Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, George Morgan |
Marion Worth (b. May Ann Ward July 4, 1930 - December 19, 1999) was an American Country Music Singer. She was a popular performer on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. She also had several hits in the early 1960s.
Contents |
[edit] Early Life & Rise to Fame
Marion Worth was born in 1933 during the height of the depression. Her father, who was a railroad worker, taught her how to play piano. At the young age of 10, she won a local talent show contest for five weeks straight. However, she initially not interested in pursuing a career in the music business, and she wanted to become a nurse instead. After high school, Worth went to Paul Heynes Jr. Business College, where she began her medical training. However, Marion decided to change her mind once again, and she became a bookkeeper for a record company. Around this time, Marion and her sister won a local talent contest. It was around this time she needed to decide if she wanted to pursue a career in music. She decided to go with music instead.
She made her debut on radio on a radio station in Dallas, Texas called "KLIF". She then worked at other radio stations, like "WVOK", "WAPI", and even "WAPI-TV". These three stations were all in Birmingham, Alabama. It was Happy Wilson, who became quite impressed with Marion's singing. He was so impressed, he began recording her.
[edit] The Height of Her Career
That year, in 1959, she had her first hit called "Are You Willing, Willie" on Cherokee Records. The song went all the way to Country Top 15. In 1960, when independent record labels could get high chart placings, her song "That's My Kind of Love" went all the way to the Top 5, becoming her biggest hit. Jack Stapp signed the young singer to the Grand Ole Opry's Friday Night Frollic. As a result to her independent record label hit, she was signed to Columbia Records. She went under the production skills of Don Law and Frank Jones. She was soon recording for Columbia. Under Columbia, she recorded a single that was also a big hit for Worth called "I Think I Know". The song was a Top 10 hit for Worth, bringing her big success again. In 1961, she released another single called "There'll Always Be Sadness". The single was not as successful as her other singles, but it did make the Top 25 that year. For almost two years, Worth was absent from the Country charts.
In 1963, Marion returned back to the Country charts. That year, she recorded the song "Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" was another successful single once again. The song reached Country's Top 15. The even more amazing thing, was the song entered the Pop Music charts, and reached the Top 50. She followed her crossover hit up well with a cover version of "Crazy Arms" (the original was done by Ray Price). The song reached the Country Top 20. That same year, Worth also joined the Grand Ole Opry. From then on, she became a popular performer on the show, which was held in Nashville, Tennessee each week. The next year, 1964 started with a Top 40 hit called "You Took Him Off My Hands (Now Please Take Him Off My Mind)". She had a bigger hit that year though. However, it was a duet recording with George Morgan called "Slipping Around". The song was a Top 20 hit. She had another hit that year called "The French Song", which was a Top 25 hit for Worth. It wasn't until 1966 that Worth was back on the charts. She soon reached the Top 40 called "I Will Blow Out the Light". Marion soon parted ways with Columbia Records and switched over to Decca Records. She didn't have as much success under Decca Records though. She had better success under Columbia. However, she did make the Top 40. She had a Top 40 hit with "A Woman Needs Love" in 1967 and "Mama Sez" in 1968. These were the only times, Worth ever charted for Decca.
[edit] Later Career & Death
Worth's success on the Country Music charts, went down greatly after 1968. However, Worth didn't stop performing. Her hobby was to study the history of the world, which she focused a lot of time on after her chart success faded away. However, she continued to be an active member of the Grand Ole Opry. She was a popular and in-demand performer for many years in the United States and Canada. Worth did a lot of firsts for Country Music during her heyday. She was one of the first Country performers to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as one of the first Country performers to perform in Las Vegas. During the 1950s, Worth was one of several female Country singers, which included Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells, to break down the tradition of using women only as background singers in Country Music.
On Sunday, December 19, 1999, Worth died in Nashville, Tennessee at the Tennessee Christian Medical Center from complications of emphysema. She was 64 years old.
[edit] Charted Singles
| Year | Single | U.S. Country Singles | U.S. Pop Singles | Album |
| 1959 | "Are You Willing, Willie" | 12 | - | Marion Worth |
| 1960 | "That's My Kind of Love" | 5 | - | That's My Kind of Love |
| 1961 | "I Think I Know" | 7 | - | Greatest Hits |
| 1961 | "There'll Always Be Sadness" | 25 | - | Greatest Hits |
| 1963 | "Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" | 14 | 42 | Greatest Hits |
| 1964 | "Slippin' Around" (with George Morgan) | 12 | - | Slippin' Around |
| 1967 | "A Woman Needs Love" | 38 | - | A Woman Needs Love |
