Marcus Singletary

Marcus Singletary is an American singer and musician. He has recorded an array of critically acclaimed rock albums and is an acknowledged expert in pop criticism and pop culture.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, an interest in music developed at an early age as Singletary quickly branched out from bass guitar to six-string acoustic and electric guitars, drums, and piano.^[1] A high school instructor later aided his studies by charting out scales and assigning extra homework after hours during a highly impressionable period in the young musician's life. Singletary stated, "Early on, I consciously sounded like the Rolling Stones because I tried to write songs that I thought were Stones soundalikes. In particular, I always enjoyed Mick Taylor’s guitar playing, and I would spend hours learning his riffs from albums he appeared on such as Sticky Fingers. Later, I started listening to Led Zeppelin and spent years contemplating Jimmy Page’s production techniques."^[2]

Education

Quigley Preparatory Seminary South was closed by the Archdiocese of Chicago during Singletary's first year at the high school, and he later graduated from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary. Singletary earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Northwestern University and pursued vocal instruction under the tutelage of Dan Detloff.^[3] After moving to Los Angeles, California in 2000, Singletary studied jazz guitar alongside Finnish fusion virtuoso Antti Kotikoski at Musician's Institute.

Early Life

During college, Singletary backed blues players on bass in nightclubs and fronted the rock band Jupiter's Child, a group stamped by a revolving crew of musicians.^[4] Despite landing a gig at the 1996 Democratic National Convention, recordings remained unissued until Chicago Stomp! surfaced in 2001.^[5] A review in All Music Guide compared the CD to Widespread Panic, stating, "fans of the jam band genre may enjoy this despite its shortcomings" in reference to the album's low budget production values.^[6]

Sky's the Limit (2002) was uniformly received as a collection of cuts benefitting from, "better production" and "improved songwriting."^[7] The group subsequently performed Singletary's composition "Can't Ask For More" on the television program Chic-a-Go-Go in 2003.^[8]

The Blues Years

In 2004, Singletary founded the independent record label Aviation Records.^[9] Among the company's initial releases were Capitol Hill and Live at the Foxx, albums produced by Singletary using home recording software.^[10] Highlights from all previous discs were thereafter grouped onto the 2006 Rocks compilation. Many tracks recorded during this era were characterized by simple blues chord patterns (such as Singletary's cover of Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago"), and Illinois Entertainer labeled the disc, "a sampling of Singletary's recorded blues resume."^[11]

Branching Out

Marcus Singletary was released in 2008. Signaling a large departure from previous musical styles, the disc was recorded at Clear Lake Audio in North Hollywood, California and mixed by Don Casale, producer of Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on the same console used to track Elvis Presley's RCA Records hits of the 1960s and 1970s.^[12] A more consciously commercial effort, the disc received a mixed critical reception upon its initial release although, in Michael Popke's opinion, "Cynics among us may regard Singletary's latest material - his other albums were defined by lengthy blues solos - as a step backwards into pop territory, [but] the rest will simply enjoy these...catchy, happy-sounding tunes that may brighten an otherwise cloudy day."^[13]

Critical comparisons to guitarist Jimi Hendrix were immediate with the release of Take Me Out to the Ball Game later in the year, as Sea of Tranquility noted, "[Ball Game] veers off into improvised uncharted territory ala "The Star-Spangled Banner,"" and David C. Eldredge pointed out that the CD, "finds [Singletary] riffing and then off into the freeform chording stratosphere pursuing the disc's eponymous opening chetsnut and similar nods to baseball themes and icons."^[14][15]

Smokin (2011)

Including a cover of Bob Marley's "Misty Morning," the material on Singletary's seventh solo album Smokin' materialized during concert performances at venues including House of Blues and Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Featuring bassist Cliff Starbuck of Ekoostik Hookah and former Doobie Brothers drummer Chet McCracken, the disc was mixed by Ross Pallone.^[16] A promotional concert was held on June 7, 2011 at Los Angeles' legendary Viper Room in support of the release.^[17] UK rock critic Simon Smith wrote, "Marcus Singletary has crafted a great album that has a distinctive sound, a heart and soul to smile for with a beat to boogie to...It's unashamedly upbeat and embracing while it rings every drop of sweat from your panting face as you try to keep up. Great fun."^[18]

Music Journalism

Singletary is a cited expert in the fields of pop culture and pop criticism. He briefly worked as an editor at print publication UR Chicago Magazine during college, where he interviewed such artists as Eddie C. Campbell, Shemekia Copeland, and Koko Taylor.^[19] Later, he published thousands of articles for the site jazz.com, and is mentioned in at least two other Wikipedia articles - one concerning Steely Dan, and another regarding Miles Davis' seminal Filles de Kilimanjaro CD - alongside such esteemed contemporaries as Stephen Thomas Erlewine.^[20][21] Singletary is a regular contributor to Examiner, a division of Clarity Media Group, and is a member of the Jazz Journalists' Association (JJA) and the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS.)

Discography

• Chicago Stomp! (2001)
• Sky's the Limit (2002)
• Entertainment Tonight (2003)
• Marcus Singletary Band (2004)
• Capitol Hill (2004)
• Live at the Foxx (2005)
• Rocks (2006)
• Marcus Singletary (2008)
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game (2008)
• Smokin' (2011)

Trivia

The cover of the Marcus Singletary CD is based upon the cover of Dave Mason's 1974 self-titled solo album.

The cover of the Smokin' CD is based upon the cover of the T-Rex 1977 album Dandy in the Underworld.

Singletary has been featured as an opening act on bills featuring Robbie Krieger of The Doors, Nick Menza of Megadeth (Deltanaut), and drummer Danny Seraphine (Chicago, California Transit Authority.)^[22][23]

Singletary has performed with drummer and Showtime Networks' Mixed Martial Arts broadcaster Stephen Quadros of the band Sacred Cowboys.^[24]

Singletary is a second cousin of National Football League Hall-of-Famer Mike Singletary.^[25]

References

1. ^ "Marcus Singletary Biography". KIAC Media, LLC. http://iacmusic.com/artist.aspx?id=59670. Retrieved 23 October 2008. 
2. ^ "Whispers of the Plains: Marcus Singletary Interview". Higher Plain Music. http://higherplainmusic.com/2011/07/15/whispers-of-the-plains-marcus-singletary. Retrieved 15 July 2011. 
3. ^ "Marcus Singletary In Review". Guitar Nine Records. http://www.guitar9.com/marcussingletaryrocks.html. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
4. ^ Torreano, Bradley. "Chicago jam band Jupiter's Child was first formed in 1991 under bassist Marcus Singletary when he was only a teenager". All Music Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jupiters-child-p519338. Retrieved 1 January 2003. 
5. ^ Torreano, Bradley. "By the time the Democratic National Convention rolled around, they were known enough in the area to score a gig at the event". All Music Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jupiters-child-p519338. Retrieved 1 January 2003. 
6. ^ "Jupiter's Child Chicago Stomp Review". All Music Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/chicago-stomp-r571227. Retrieved 1 January 2002. 
7. ^ "Jupiter's Child Sky's the Limit Review". All Music Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/skys-the-limit-r630580. Retrieved 1 January 2003. 
8. ^ "Episode #323". Chic-a-Go-Go. http://www.roctober.com/chicagogo/oldshows2.html. Retrieved 20 October 2003. 
9. ^ "United States Trademark Search". USPTO. http://www.trademarkia.com/aviation-records-78766041.html. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
10. ^ Haverkamp, Jill. "Price Point: Chicago Studios Adapt to the Home Recording Revolution". Illinois Entertainer. http://illinoisentertainer.com/2006/02/studio-feature/. Retrieved 1 February 2006. 
11. ^ Scales, Jason. "Marcus Singletary Rocks CD Review". Illinois Entertainer. http://illinoisentertainer.com/2006/09/around-hear-page-3/. Retrieved 29 September 2006. 
12. ^ Brennan, Bob. "Interviews with Recording Engineer Don Casale". Perpetual Toxins. http://www.perpetualtoxins.com/060501-doncasale.shtml. Retrieved 1 May 2006. 
13. ^ Popke, Michael. "Marcus Singletary Self-Titled Album Review". Sea of Tranquility. http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=6687. Retrieved 18 August 2008. 
14. ^ "Marcus Singletary - Take Me Out to the Ball Game Review". Sea of Tranquility. http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=7151. Retrieved 15 December 2008. 
15. ^ Eldredge, David. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game CD Review". Illinois Entertainer. http://illinoisentertainer.com/2009/03/local-cd-reviews-40/. Retrieved 2 March 2009. 
16. ^ Preston, Scott. January 20, 2011 "Interview with Cliff Starbuck". Cincy Groove Magazine. http://207.170.131.65/?q=node/2602 January 20, 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
17. ^ "Calendar". Los Angeles Daily News. Jack Klunder. http://events.dailynews.com/west-hollywood-ca/events/show/185419286-marcus-singletary-system. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
18. ^ Smith, Simon. "Marcus Singletary Smokin' CD Review". Higher Plain Music. http://higherplainmusic.com/2011/05/30/marcus-singletary-smokin-review/. Retrieved 30 May 2011. 
19. ^ "Memories of Koko Taylor 1928-2009". UR Chicago. http://207.170.131.65/?q=node/2602. Retrieved 1 December 1997. 
20. ^ "Kid Charlemagne". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
21. ^ "Miles Davis, Filles de Kilimanjaro". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filles_de_Kilimanjaro. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
22. ^ "Calendar". Los Angeles Weekly. http://digitalissue.laweekly.com/publication/?i=24207&p=93. Retrieved 9 October 2009. 
23. ^ "Calendar". jambase.com. http://www.jambase.com/shows/event.aspx?EventID=410689. Retrieved 12 May 2006. 
24. ^ "Music". stephenquadros.com. http://www.stephenquadros.com/musician/main.html. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
25. ^ Eldredge, David. "That guitarist Marcus Singletary gets his latest artistic groove from the baseball diamond is somewhat surprising given his cousin Mike’s enduring fame as a Bear.". Illinois Entertainer. http://illinoisentertainer.com/2009/03/local-cd-reviews-40/. Retrieved 2 March 2009.