Marjorie "Margie" Hendrix (sometimes Hendricks) (March 13, 1935 – July 14, 1973)
was an American
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
singer and founding member of
the Raelettes
The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on T ...
, who were the backing singers for
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
, the father of her child, Charles Wayne Hendrix.
She sang lead and background on several of Ray's hit songs of the late 1950's and early 1960's, but after she was ejected from the group in 1964 she attempted a solo career with the labels
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
and
Sound Stage 7 before she was dropped from both of them due to her music not charting. She struggled with alcoholism, heroin addiction, depression, and poverty until she died in mid 1973 at the age of 38.
Early years and the Cookies
Margie Hendrix was born on March 13, 1935, in
Bulloch County, Georgia
Bulloch County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,099, up from 70,217 in 2010. The county seat is Statesboro. Bulloch County comprises the Statesboro, GA Mic ...
to Kattie and Renzy Hendrix.
She sang, played piano and directed her local church choir while in her pre-teens. In the early 1950s', she moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
when she was 18 and signed a record deal with Lamp records and released her first 3 singles, which were "Everything", "Good Treatment", and "Every Time" in 1954, but they did not hit the charts and she left the label in 1955. In 1956, she replaced Beulah Robertson in
the Cookies
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, joining existing members Dorothy Jones and Darlene McCrea. The group signed to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
, and had a No. 9 hit single on the
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
called "In Paradise". They also started working as
session singer
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...
s at Atlantic, where they were introduced to Ray Charles. The Cookies auditioned for Charles on the song "Leave My Woman Alone". In 1958, Hendrix and McCrea left the Cookies and later formed the Raelettes as Ray's
backing singer
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
s.
[de Jong, Tom]
"Margie Hendrix"
''SirShambling.com''. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
The Raelettes and Ray Charles
In October 1958, Ray Charles recorded his first song with the Raelettes called "
Night Time Is the Right Time
"Night Time Is the Right Time" or "The Right Time" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by American musician Nappy Brown in 1957. It draws on earlier blues songs and has inspired popular versions, including those by Ray Charles, Rufus and Carla, ...
", which reached No. 5 on the R&B charts. The song is widely known for Hendrix's powerful guest vocals. There was a mutual attraction and Hendrix and Charles began an affair, and had one son, Charles Wayne Hendricks (born October 1, 1959, in New York City) together.
After she gave birth to Charles Wayne, she tried to convince Ray to leave his wife Della Beatrice Howard and live with her and their son, but Ray refused. Margie and the Raelettes continued to perform on several of Ray's songs, but during the early 1960's, Hendrix's relationship with Ray began to fall apart and she later started to use alcohol and heroin, and her career began to suffer. Her drug use started to affect her appearance and behavior with the Raelettes like picking fights during recording sessions, not showing up to performances, and showing up to performances drunk. In 1964 the Raelettes released the single "A Lover's Blues" which featured Hendrix on lead vocals, but this was the last song that she recorded with Ray, because in July 1964 during a tour in Europe after a heated and possibly physically violent argument, Charles officially fired Hendrix from the Raelettes and sent her back to the United States.
Unsuccessful solo career and drug addiction
After leaving the Raelettes, in 1965 Hendrix signed a record deal with
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
and she released five singles, but the singles failed to hit the charts and an album was later shelved causing an increase in her use of alcohol and more damaging drugs.
[ In 1966, Hendrix married jazz singer Robert Fulson, who was the brother of singer ]Lowell Fulson
Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most imp ...
. On September 7, 1967, while driving in Texas, Hendrix was involved a car accident with Robert, when their car was struck by a lumber truck. They both survived, but Hendrix suffered neck injuries and slight loss of hearing in her right ear. She was dropped from the Mercury label in late 1967 due to her music failing. Hendrix and Fulson divorced in 1968. Hendrix later signed her second record deal with the Sound Stage 7 label that same year and released two singles, but they also failed and she was dropped from the label in 1970. In 1971, she became mentally unstable, faded away from the public eye, quit singing, and continued to use drugs and alcohol for the remainder of her life.
Death
Hendrix died in New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
, on July 14, 1973 (aged 38). The official cause of her death is unknown due to lack of evidence and that no autopsy was performed, but most sources claim her death was caused by a heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
overdose, but there are rumors that she died in a car crash or from cancer and some sources also claim that she was facing poverty around the time of her death. She is buried at New Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Register, Georgia
Register is a town in Bulloch County, Georgia, United States. The population was 175 at the 2010 census.
The community was named after Frank Register, a pioneer citizen.
Geography
Register is located at (32.366495, -81.883543).
According to th ...
. Her son Charles Wayne died in 2013 from unknown causes.
In popular culture
Margie was portrayed by Regina King
Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...
in the 2004 film '' Ray''. King received her first NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
and Satellite Award
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
for her performance.
References
External links
Discography
at discogs.com
Margie Hendrix Memorial at www.findagrave.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrix, Margie
1935 births
1973 deaths
20th-century African-American women singers
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
The Raelettes members
The Cookies members