By Marilyn Lester*** We at NiteLife Exchange are thrilled—along with a multitude of friends and fans—that the Marvelous Marilyn Maye is making her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops at the tender age of almost 95 (her birthday is April 10). About her, NiteLife Exchange Publisher, Scott 
Barbarino, declares, “Marilyn Maye standing center stage at Carnegie Hall is so deserved and is a triumph for her as well as the industry.” Maye has appeared in many symphony and big-band concerts throughout the United States, but not at THE big house.
Most of us in the NYC-Metropolitan area know Maye as a jazz and cabaret artist, appearing at clubs such as 54 Below, Birdland and Dizzy’s. But she has also been an actress director, arranger, educator and Grammy nominated recording artist.
She first appeared in the spotlight as a pre-teen vocalist in a series of amateur contests in Topeka, Kansas and she hasn’t stopped since. Her entire life has been committed to the art of song and performance.
The many award-winning Maye appeared 76 times on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”—the record for a singer. She was “discovered” by Steve Allen who presented her various times to his national television audience. That led her to an RCA recording contract, seven albums and 34 singles.
Her place in American music history was assured when the Arts Council of the Smithsonian Institution selected one of her recordings, “Too Late Now,” for the Smithsonian produced album of the 110 Best American Compositions of the Twentieth Century.
When Marilyn Maye takes the stage with The New York Pops for a program of standards and musical theater classics this Friday, March 24 we wish her a blazing debut and a well-deserved boffo triumph.
