MARY ANN FISHER, "FOREVER MORE" C/W "I CAN'T TAKE IT," SEG-WAY S 1001 (REL. 8/1961)

Ray Charles wrote a song about her when the two were a romantic item. Mary Ann Fisher was born in Henderson, Kentucky in 1923. Orphaned early in life, she grew up in Louisville at the Kentucky Home Society for Colored Children, along with all her siblings. This home fostered several other jazz and blues talents, including vocalist Helen Humes, trombonist Dicky Wells and trumpeter Jonah Jones (whose Capitol LPs are a thrift-store mainstay, which meant they sold well in their day).

Fisher showed musical talent in her childhood. As she approached maturity, she had many talent show wins on her resume, and she developed a solid nightclub act. Sometimes a show person gets some bad breaks, and 1955 found her washing dishes in a bistro. She heard tell that Ray Charles and his band were in town and they met in a Fort Knox USO club. Sparks flew, and Mary Ann was part of Charles’ entourage for three years. She was one of the original Raelettes and is heard on Charles’ Atlantic Records sides of this period.

Ray Charles recalled her time with him in his memoir, Brother Ray, and it’s worth quoting a passage here:

"I was playing in Kentucky in 1955 when a promoter told me about a vocalist named Mary Ann fisher who was gigging around Louisville and Fort Knox. I caught her act (Mary Ann said it was while she was singing with the army band at Fort Knox), liked her style and decided to try out a little experiment. I asked her to join my band. Immediately I started writing some material for her. I remember doing a chart of Ellington's 'I Got It Bad,'and there was also 'What Kind of Man Are You?'— a tune of mine which we recorded a couple of years later.

"I wrote another song 'This Little Girl of Mine'— and had Donald Wilkerson and 'Fathead'(David Newman) form a vocal trio with Mary Ann. They sang backup to my lead and in some ways this was an indication of things to come.

"Mary Ann was a good singer. I used her as a featured vocalist. She did mostly sentimental and torch songs and she added a lot to our program."

In 1959, she began a career as a solo recording artist, after a false start in 1956 for the Chicago-based Favorite label.

Her official debut disc, “Wild as You Are,” came out on Fire Records in 1959 and is one of the more sought-after r&b sides of its day; it’s been bootlegged and reissued, and originals fetch three figures. (This is an example of a not-rare record can become inflated in value due to DJ demand; the song was issued twice by the label and both go for the big bucks.

In 1961, she recorded for Seg-Way Records, where she made two singles, followed by her most sought-after disc, 1962’s “I Keep Comin’ Back for More” for Imperial Records. The Seg-Way singles are undervalued and can be had for reasonable prices. They’re less frenzied than those DJ favorites, but those influencers seem blind to nuanced performances. Immediate impact is key to them.

Fisher’s deep voice is unusual. It’s a feminine voice with masculine overtones. The underlid of this first Seg-Way 45, “Forever More,” penned by Clint Ballard, Jr., is a soulful item with an intimate setting. Its gospel-influenced melody inspires a gutsy performance that emphasizes her vocal control. She keeps it tight and close when necessary and highlights certain phrases with a gritty outburst that’s more impressive for her mastery of contrast and dynamics.

This is the confident voice of a performer who’s done countless live gigs and toured with bigger stars. It’s not a jaded voice but an experienced one. It conveys much more than the song it’s singing. Not every performer can do this.

 

“I Can’t Take It” got to…wait for it…#92 on the national pop charts; it was a big hit in some Northeastern cities. It’s not as strong a song as “Forever More,” which would’ve been the best choice as the A-side (or plug side, as is sometimes seen on record labels). Written by Tony Bruno and Gerry Granahan, it is well performed by Mary Ann, but doesn’t do that much for me. Since her solo performances are a precious few, and she is a marvelous singer, anything she recorded is of interest, but Ballard’s song was much better suited for her style. Still: it got her on the pop charts.

Mary Ann Fisher made her last single in 1962—the Imperial 45—and took a hiatus until 2004, when she released her first album, Song Bird of the South. Prior to this, she lived in Los Angeles, where she got other offers at the big time but decided against them. She crossed country to New York, then returned to Kentucky, where she could be found working at The Blue Boar café through the 1970s and ‘80s. She never stopped performing, and sang with the greats as an opening act, but the big time didn’t appeal. She passed on in 2004 and is an example of a talented person who was happy without fame. It wasn’t an easy life, being on the road; a 1993 interview with Louisville Music News revealed the ups and downs of her time in the spotlight. It’s a pity she didn’t record more; hers is a haunting and moving voice.

Tomorrow: 180° move to the white West Coast sound of vocal group The Cascades, via a 1964 platter for Charter Records.