Honest and straightforward, Marjorie Michelle sings with the sensitivity and the power of a person who has lived life and met its challenges head on. “There isn’t a song on this CD that I personally haven’t lived,” she says.
“Life and time create experiences, so singing these songs comes from deep inside of me,” says Marjorie Michelle. “Making this CD has always been a dream of mine. It just took a little longer because life got in the way.”
Now working in the longshore industry in her native California, Marjorie Michelle took the musical road less traveled. “I always wanted to be a singer,” she says. “I grew up in a house full of music. My grandmother and aunt played piano, my mother danced, I took guitar and piano lessons. I remember calling my girlfriends up on the telephone and singing to them.”
However it wasn’t all harmony. Discord between her parents led to divorce when she was a young teen and the dream was put on hold. “That was hard at times,” she acknowledges. “I got married young, had a son and divorced within one year. I had to bury my music. Sometimes I was working three jobs to support myself and my son.”
That experience taught Marjorie Michelle an appreciation of life and its ups and downs which she brings to her music. “It’s a big part of this record. When I sing songs like ‘I Fall to Pieces’ and “Do Right,” that’s me. Life wasn’t easy. I’m not complaining. That’s just the way it was. Like many women, I worked a lot of jobs in male-dominated industries with constant hurdles to jump.”
Ironically, it was the male-dominated industry Marjorie Michelle works in now that brought the dream to life. “I work on the waterfront as a longshoreman. Believe it or not, there a lot of talented people on the docks, from actors, musicians, artist, and the like. One of them, David Mora, a longshoreman and a pretty talented Latin percussionist heard me sing. I remember him saying, Oh my God! Why aren’t you doing that for a living?’ ”
“I have always wanted to sing. For me it’s not about being a star. It’s about the passion and the possibility of helping someone. Many times in my life when the going was tough it was always music that healed me. I am so fortunate at this moment with everything that I have in this life. I would just like to know my music has made someone else’s journey a little easier.”
“You know, I know it sounds corny but dreams do come true. I have my horses and now my music. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
