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MARGE RAYMOND has had a long, varied and continuous music career, attributing to her virtuoso vocal talents. Following is just a brief description of her career.

Marge Raymond was discovered singing Doo Wop on a street corner on Ave D in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, N.Y. She was brought to the famous Brill Building on Broadway and presented to the President of Coed Records where she was immediately signed to the label. Marge was only 14 years old.

MARGIE AND THE FORMATIONS was formed and they recorded (Sad Illusion) and (Better get what goes for you), a moderate hit that went to #22. Joe "Bean" Esposito (Brooklyn Dreams, Donna Summer & Grammy nominee) along with Eddie Hokensen (Brooklyn Dreams, Donna Summer, Kenny Vance) were part of the Formations. Marge also was hired as a demo singer for the numerous songwriters that were housed in the Brill Building. It was the era of Motown and girl groups. One of those Brill Bldg demos was "You don't have to say you love me" which was recorded by Dusty Springfield and was a #1 hit. Marge recalls "I recorded the demo and my manager took it to United Artist records. I was about to be signed to the label, but, Dusty Springfield heard the tune and wanted to record it. She was a star and I was trying to break into the business. The rest is history. A Little Known Fact: Marge was asked to be the lead singer of the #1 hit group The Shangri-las. She turned it down. "I was only 16 yrs old and was totally scared of touring and not being with my boyfriend. Little did I know that they were destined to be one of the biggest girl groups of the 60's".

In the 70's Marge joined a group with her childhood friend, singer/songwriter SUSAN COLLINS (Sweet Life w/Paul Davis), along with NANCY O'NEILL (Fanya All Stars). SUMAGNA was formed and signed to DON KIRSCHNER entertainment. PAUL SHAFFER (David Letterman Show) was their musical director. At that time, they were in constant demand as a background vocal trio. "We had the most amazing vocal harmonies. Everyone wanted us as their background singers" exclaims Marge. They toured with "THE NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE", recorded with BENNY MARDONES (Into the Night) with RITCHIE HAVENS as producer and ELEPHANTS MEMORY (John Lennon's band) to name just a few. Marge was noticed while SUMAGNA, along with ELLIE GREENWICH (60's singer/songwriter extraordinaire), was recording the background vocals with the ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTERA on their smash hit album FACE THE MUSIC at the RECORD PLANT STUDIOS in New York City. "JEFF LYNN of ELO gave me center mic" exclaims Marge, "He liked a background vocal arrangement I came up with for "Evil Woman" (Evil Woman went to #1) for many weeks.

To this day, I still hear my voice loud and clear on that part, in fact it was used in the AUSTIN POWERS GOLDMEMBER movie." JEFF LYNN also gave Marge a small solo part on the track (Down Home Town) and asked the group to go on a National tour of arenas. During those sessions, JIMMY IOVINE (Founder & Chairman of INTERSCOPE records), who was the engineer, told Marge "You have one of the most incredible singing voices I've ever heard, you should have your own band". Jimmy, at that time, was also engineering BRUCE SPRINGSTEENS' (Born to Run) album and just completed JOHN LENNONS' (Walls & Bridges) album.

The band FLAME was formed with JIMMY IOVINE producing two albums on the RCA Label. The band consisted of:
Marge Raymond-Lead Vocals,Jimmy Crespo-Lead Guitar, Thommy Price-Drums, John Paul Fetta-Bass, Frank Ruby-Guitar & Bob Leone-Keyboards. Marge was also signed as a songwriter to WARNER/CHAPPEL music publishing. Appearing on the album were members of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S band, CLARENCE CLEMENS playing sax, STEVE VAN ZANT arranging (The Sopranos, Little Steven). LUTHER VANDROSS can be heard on background vocals on the track Too Many Cooks. FLAME toured the country along with FOREIGNER, BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE, NECKTAR and many other 70's groups. After moderate success FLAME disbanded. "The music industry had absolutely no clue as to how to market me. I was the first woman to front a rock band since Janis Joplin and they only knew how to market men. I was a true pioneer for women in music," states Marge. Marge teamed up with FLAME band mate lead guitarist/songwriter JIMMY CRESPO (Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, Billy Squire). They landed in the offices of STEVE LEBER AND DAVID KREBS who ran the music industry's #1 rock n roll Management Company. During that time, Marge recorded with MICHAEL BOLTON, STEVE MARRIOT of HUMBLE PIE and many others. JIMMY CRESPO went on to join AEROSMITH. Marge joined the band KICKS as lead vocalist and became AEROSMITH'S opening act on tour. "I remember the audience yelling for Aerosmith. Marge exclaims, "When I came onstage, they just didn't know what to expect because they never saw a women front a hard rock band before. I remember seeing them with their eyes and mouths wide open in awe. I kicked ass and took names later. They absolutely loved me and screamed for more." She even joined STEVEN TYLER on stage and sang background vocals. KICKS recorded an album with Producer FELIX PAPPALARDI (Mountain, Cream, Eric Clapton), and STEVEN TYLER sang on the background vocals. Due to Felix's untimely death, the project was discontinued. Quoting David Krebs,
"MARGE RAYMOND has one of the best Rock n Roll voices in the world and a commanding charismatic stage presence. She was way ahead of her time and was lost in a male dominated music industry".

Marge exclaims, "I remember David calling me an enigma, because once again, there was no marketing formula for a female front person in a rock band. He was at a loss as to how to successfully promote me. I was one of the first to do what I did"!

EDITORS NOTE: Given the opportunity that women have today in the music industry along with talent showcases like American Idol, MTV, VH1, etc, there is absolutely no doubt that MARGE RAYMOND would be a huge superstar and a household name.

AEROSMITH was having internal problems. JOEY KRAMER-(Aerosmith, drummer) formed a band called RENEGADE which consisted of MARGE RAYMOND-(lead vocals), JIMMY CRESPO-(Flame, Aerosmith-lead guitar), TOM HAMILTON-(Aerosmith-bass) & BOB MAYO-(Peter Frampton-keyboards/guitar), recording at the POWER STATION with producer TONY BONGIOVI. 8 tracks were recorded with CBS behind the project. RENEGADE/MARGE RAYMOND recorded some of the most powerful rock vocals ever to be recorded by a female singer. Those tracks are much sought after to this day and have never been publicly released. As RENEGADE started to buzz the music industry, STEVEN TYLER decided to fulfill his contractual obligations to CBS and the project was put on hold indefinitely.

NOTE: MARGE RAYMOND of Renegade has been mentioned in 2 biographical books on AEROSMITH, "The Fall and Rise of Rock's Greatest Band Aerosmith" and "The Biography of Aerosmith" along with numerous websites on the internet.

Marge went on to form another band called PROTON who recorded an album at THE HIT FACTORY in NYC, but before the recordings could be released, a band member passed away. Raymond states, "I disbanded Proton and decided to change my musical direction". Seeking a change in her career, Marge reverted back to her musical theater roots and was cast in the production of A Tale of Two Cities as Madame De Farge. The songs were written for her incredible belting voice. This is slated to go to Broadway of which a date is to be announced. She also sang jingles some of which you probably heard for Mountain Dew, Leggs Panty hose, Michelob Beer, Pontiac and many many more. "I needed a vocal challenge," states Raymond, so she joined the esteemed COLLEGIATE CHORALE, which bases out of CARNEGIE HALL and is under the baton of Maestro ROBERT BASS. The Chorale preformed and recorded classical pieces at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall and the Metropolitan Opera. Among some of the most notable concerts were several with LUCIANO PAVAROTTI for his PAVORATTI PLUS concerts which were televised on PBS, The RICHARD TUCKER Gala which was also on PBS, the Carnegie Hall Centennial Celebration and THE PAUL MCCARNTNEY ORATORIO. "Being such a huge Beatle fan, I was so thrilled and honored to work with PAUL MCCARTNEY and be a part of his production at Carnegie Hall," exclaims Marge.

Marge has had an enduring music career as a Major Label recording artist on RCA, playing the worlds biggest arenas, festivals and elite stages such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center with the music industries top stars. Today she is Lead Vocalist with THE GENERATION GAP, which is a musical entertainment production that caters to weddings, private parties, corporate parties, etc. Marge continues to be hired to record, arrange and produce, sing background vocals, jingles and private solo projects. She is also a vocal coach to aspiring young singers. As well as singing, Marge has acted in several short films and has appeared on TV. She just loves to sing and it shows. Her virtuoso ability and 3 octave range gives her the ability to sing so many different styles and has made the GENERATION GAP much sought after for weddings, private parties and corporate parties in the tri-state area.

GENERATION GAP, over the years, has become one of New York City's prestigious and in demand live music entertainment groups. They have state of the art equipment and play every genre of music from 50's doo-wop, Motown, Beatles, Standards, Sinatra, 70's disco, 80's, 90's, Broadway and current top 40 and they get out into the crowd and entertain. They are famous for their musical theater show that features MARGE RAYMOND in Phantom of the Opera, Grease and West Side Story along with singer AL MANO (Guy and Dolls, Oklahoma) and singer TONY GAP (DJ, various instruments and engineer). GENERATION GAP is available for your wedding or party. You can see them play publicly or hear them on their CD. "You have to hear us to believe what we can do. You will be blown away by our energy, vocal precision and harmonies. We have something for everyone and will make your party a musical success" exclaims Marge.

For more information and bookings please contact MARGE RAYMOND at: [email protected]