Maxine Sullivan, one of the most renowned American jazz vocalists, was born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Her exceptional talent led to early gigs on radio broadcasts in Pittsburgh and with a local group led by her Uncle Harry, the Red Hot Peppers. This exposure caught the attention of the proprietor, who hired her as the featured singer at a speakeasy, the Benjamin Harrison Literary Club, for a salary of $14 a week.
Pianist Gladys Mosier, who played with the all-girl band of movie star Ina Ray Hutton, heard Maxine perform and arranged a recording date at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street with band leader Claude Thornhill. Thornhill prompted her name change, as there were already too many musicians named Williams on the scene. By 1937, Maxine had developed her own unique, swinging style, which blended perfect diction and intonation, as showcased in several famous recordings with Thornhill's orchestra, including "Gone With the Wind," "Loch Lomond," and "Annie Laurie."
By the end of the decade, Maxine was at the peak of her popularity, with her face appearing on the cover of Life magazine and commuting regularly for sessions between the West Coast and New York. Her rendition of "Summertime" at a 1938 memorial concert for George Gershwin was a showstopper. Maxine also appeared in the Paramount musical St. Louis Blues (1939),singing the title track.
Between 1940 and 1941, she cut several more hit records with bassist John Kirby, to whom she was married at the time, and his 'biggest little band in the land.' She also joined Kirby for two seasons on the CBS show "Flow Gently, Sweet Rhythm," setting a landmark for African-American women being showcased on radio for any length of time. In the summer of 1941, Maxine went on tour with Benny Carter's orchestra, then left showbiz for several years.
Back in New York in the mid-40's, Maxine pursued a successful career as a soloist, enjoying long residencies at famous venues like Le Ruban Bleu, Village Vanguard, and Penthouse. In addition to singing, she had also added the valve trombone, pocket trumpet, and flügelhorn to her repertoire. After touring Europe in 1948 and 1954, she retired from performing a second time to take up nursing, physical therapy, and health counseling at schools in the Bronx.
Her final comeback began in 1958. Over the next two decades, Maxine worked with her second husband, Cliff Jackson, an ex-Chick Webb alumnus, the brilliant clarinetist Bob Wilber, and performed with the World's Greatest Jazz Band at the Half Note in New York and at several international jazz festivals. In the 80's, she added three Grammy Award nominations to her Tony nomination for a 1979 Broadway role in the musical "My Old Friends."
