René Marie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
René Marie
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Marie performing in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | René Marie Stevens |
| Born | November 7, 1955 Warrenton, Virginia, United States |
| Origin | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | MAXJAZZ, Motéma |
René Marie (born René Marie Stevens, November 7, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter. She is well-known for her jazz music. René Marie was born in Warrenton, Virginia, in the United States.
Contents
Her Music Journey
René Marie started her professional music career when she was 42 years old. At first, she used her married name, René Croan. Her first album came out in 1999. That same year, she performed at a famous club called Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. She then signed a contract with a music company called Maxjazz.
Award-Winning Albums
René Marie released four albums with Maxjazz. One of her albums, Vertigo, received a special award called a "coronet ranking" from The Penguin Guide to Jazz. This is a very high honor, given to fewer than 85 jazz recordings ever!
René Marie often mixes different songs in her work. For example, on Vertigo, she combined "Dixie" with the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit." On her album Live at Jazz Standard, she mixed Ravel's Boléro with Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne."
Singing Her Own Way
In 2008, René Marie caused some discussion when she sang at an event in Denver. Instead of singing the usual words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" (the national anthem), she used the lyrics from "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This special version of the national anthem is part of her 2011 album, The Voice of My Beautiful Country.
René Marie loves to write her own songs. She once wrote a song called "This for Joe" because a club manager was upset that she sang her own original music instead of only famous jazz songs. Her 2011 album, Black Lace Freudian Slip, has mostly songs she wrote herself. One song on it was even written by her son, Michael A. Croan, who also performs on the track.
From 2007 to 2009, she released songs about important social issues. These included "This Is Not a Protest Song," which focused on homelessness, and "3 Nooses Hanging," which addressed racial problems in Jena, Louisiana.
Documentary Film
A short film about René Marie, called "Tuning René Marie," was made. It is about 13 minutes long. Rachel Kessler directed it, and Polina Buchak produced it. The film was first shown at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York. It also won an award at the Virginia Film Festival for being the best short documentary.
Her Life Story
René Marie got married when she was 18 years old. By the time she was 23, she was a mother of two children. After 23 years of marriage, her husband told her to stop singing or leave. René Marie chose to continue her music career.
Albums Released
Here is a list of albums René Marie has released:
- Renaissance (1999, as René Croan)
- How Can I Keep from Singing? (2000)
- Vertigo (2001)
- Live at the Jazz Standard (2003)
- Serene Renegade (2004)
- Experiment in Truth (2007)
- Black Lace Freudian Slip (2011)
- Voice of My Beautiful Country (2011)
- I Wanna Be Evil: With Love to Eartha Kitt (2013)
- Sound of Red (2016)
- Darius de Haas, Rene Marie, Karen Oberlin, Janis Siegel, Ice on the Hudson: Songs by Renee Rosnes and David Hajdu (2018)
See also
In Spanish: René Marie para niños
