Margie Day facts for kids

Margie Day, born Margaret Hoffler (April 6, 1926 – September 18, 2014), was an American R&B singer. She became very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Later in life, she was also known as Margie Day Walker.

Margie Day's Early Life

Margaret Hoffler grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. She was one of four children born to Kemper and Ledora Hoffler. As a child, she loved listening to different kinds of music. Her brothers often played gospel, opera, swing, and jazz records. She also took piano lessons.

After finishing high school, Margie went to Virginia State College. She planned to study music there. However, she soon realized it wasn't what she wanted to do. She returned home and found a job at a cafeteria on a military base. There, she met a soldier who played piano, and she sometimes sang with him.

Starting Her Music Career

The soldier introduced Margie to a local musician named Luther Wilson. In 1945, she joined his band. After a few months, she moved to New York City. She started singing at a lounge in Newark, New Jersey. This is when she began using her stage name, Margie Day.

She joined a singing group called "Four Bars and a Melody." In 1947, they recorded a song called "Near You" with Savoy. Soon after, she got married and moved back to Norfolk to have a baby.

Becoming a Recording Artist

In 1950, a popular local band called the Griffin Brothers asked Margie to join them. She sang with them in Virginia and North Carolina. Soon, they got a recording deal with Dot Records.

Their first song together was "Street Walkin' Daddy" / "Riffin' With Griffin." It became a big hit, reaching number 7 on the Billboard R&B chart in late 1950. Reports said it sold over 15,000 copies each week!

Chart-Topping Songs

Their next song was "Little Red Rooster." This song reached number 5 on the R&B chart in early 1951. Billboard magazine praised her, saying she had a lot of energy in the song. Margie toured a lot with the Griffin Brothers in 1951 and 1952. They released several other songs on Dot Records. These included "Sadie Green," "I'm Gonna Jump In The River," and "The Clock Song." "Pretty Baby" was her last song to reach the R&B top ten. The band also featured another singer, Tommy Brown.

Solo Career and New Labels

In late 1952, Margie left the Griffin Brothers. She joined the Floyd Dixon Combo as a featured singer. She also started recording her own songs. Her first solo song on Dot was "Midnight." The next year, she toured with the Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams band. She performed with famous artists like T-Bone Walker, Fats Domino, and Ruth Brown.

In September 1953, Margie left Dot Records and signed with Decca. Her first song on Decca was "Snatching It Back," which she wrote herself. Even though her songs didn't make the charts, she kept touring successfully with the Paul Williams band until early 1955. In May 1955, she recorded for Atlantic Records. They released "Pitty Pat Band" on their Cat label. Even with help from disc jockey Alan Freed, it didn't become a hit.

Margie Day continued to sing alone in the late 1950s. She released songs on different labels like DeLuxe, Coed, and LeGrand.

Later Music and Retirement

After having another baby, Margie got tired of touring. She decided to retire from music around 1964 and went back to Norfolk, Virginia. There, she learned how to design slipcovers and draperies.

Later, she returned to music, singing with a jazz trio led by Dick Morgan. She then signed a new deal with RCA Records. In the late 1960s, she released two albums of pop and classic songs called Dawn of a New Day and Experience. Even though these albums didn't sell well at the time, people later compared her singing to famous artists like Billie Holiday and Nancy Wilson. Margie started performing again in places like Miami and Chicago. She was supposed to perform in Puerto Rico in 1969, but she became ill and had to cancel.

Life After Music

While recovering from her illness, Margie Day said she "found God." She decided to stop her music career for good. In 1983, using her married name, Margie Day Walker, she started a community project in Norfolk, Virginia. Her goal was to help children in the area develop their skills in performing and visual arts. She wanted to help them grow intellectually, emotionally, and morally, and build their self-esteem.

This project became the Centerstage children's arts workshop. It's a nonprofit organization that started in 1985. Margie Day Walker was its executive director. Today, it helps find talented children and teaches them art, drama, music, and dance.

In 2010, a company called Beach Road Music, LLC, bought the rights to the Coed Records music. They later re-released three of Margie Day's songs from 1961. These songs were part of a collection called From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1.

Margie Day Walker passed away on September 18, 2014, in Norfolk, Virginia.