Maxine Nightingale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maxine Nightingale
Nightingale on the Dutch TV programme The Eddy Go Round Show, 1976
Background information
Born	(1952-11-02) 2 November 1952 (age 72) Wembley, Middlesex, England
Genres	R&B, soul, disco
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Pye United Artists Windsong

Maxine Nightingale was born on November 2, 1952. She is a British R&B and soul music singer. She became famous in the 1970s for her hit songs. Her most well-known songs include "Right Back Where We Started From" (1975), "Love Hit Me" (1977), and "Lead Me On" (1979). "Right Back Where We Started From" sold over a million copies.

Early Life and Music Career Beginnings

Maxine Nightingale grew up with her two siblings. Her father, Benny Nightingale, was a comedian from Guyana. Maxine started singing with her school band. She went to Barham Primary and Ealing Grammar School. She also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

When she was 13, Maxine visited a band called Unisound. They asked her to sing with them. She joined the band and performed in many clubs in Britain. A club manager heard her sing and helped her record a demo tape. This tape was sent to Pye Records. She made her first recordings with them. However, her first three songs released in 1969 and 1971 were not very popular.

In 1969, Maxine joined the musical Hair in London. She played a supporting role and also filled in for the main female singer. Later, she moved to Germany. There, she continued her stage career in musicals like Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Godspell. She met and married Minoru Terada Domberger, who directed the German Hair show. Their daughter, Langka Veva Domberger, was born in 1973.

Her First Big Hit Song

Maxine Nightingale in 1969

Maxine returned to London with her family. She appeared in the play Savages. After that, she stopped performing for a while. She started doing "session singing." This meant she sang backup for other artists' recordings. It was easy to do in the evenings when her baby was asleep.

Her singing on a song called "Fool" by Al Matthews caught the attention of producer Pierre Tubbs. He asked a composer, J. Vincent Edwards, to write a song for Maxine. This song became "Right Back Where We Started From". Tubbs asked her to sing on the demo version. She later said that he took it to United Artists Records, and they loved it. They paid her money and offered her a contract to finish the song.

"Right Back Where We Started From" was released in the UK in 1975. It became a hit, reaching number 8 on the charts. In early 1976, it was released in the US. It quickly became very popular, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1976. Because of the song's success, Maxine went to London to record an album. The album was also called Right Back Where We Started From. She then moved to the US, which has been her home ever since. The song was even used in the 1977 hockey movie Slap Shot. Some NHL teams, like the New York Islanders, played the song after winning games at home.

Later Music Success and Performances

After "Right Back Where We Started From," Maxine had another hit in the UK. This was "Love Hit Me," the title song from her second album. She performed the song on the TV show Top of the Pops in March 1977. "Love Hit Me" reached number 11 on the UK charts.

Her third album, Love Lines, came out in 1978 in the UK and Europe. Two songs from it, "Lead Me On" and "(Bringing Out) The Girl in Me," were released as singles. They were not very successful in the UK. However, "Lead Me On" became a big hit in the US in 1979. It reached number 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. It also climbed to number 5 on the Hot 100 chart. Like her first big hit, she didn't have another Top Ten song in the US. "(Bringing Out) The Girl in Me" reached number 73, which was her last song on the Hot 100.

In 1982, Maxine had her first song in the top 20 on Billboard's R&B chart. This was "Turn to Me," a duet with Jimmy Ruffin. After this, she moved away from mainstream pop music. For about 20 years, she performed live, focusing more on jazz music. She reportedly recorded a live album at B.B. King's Club in Universal Studios Hollywood, but it has not been released. Since 2000, she has been active again in "retro music" shows. She appeared in PBS music specials like Superstars of Seventies Soul: Live in 2004 and My Music: 70s Soul Superstars in 2012.

Discography

• Right Back Where We Started From (1976)
• Night Life (1977)
• Love Lines (1979)
• Bittersweet (1980)
• It's a Beautiful Thing (1982) (US:#176), (US R&B:#35)
• Cry for Love (1986)

See also

In Spanish: Maxine Nightingale para niños

• List of disco artists (L-R)
• List of black Britons
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart