The Complete Marian Bruce

I post the work of obscure vocalists from time to time, and here is one worthy of your attention. The singer's name is Marian Bruce, who had a relatively brief career in the New York cabarets, then went on to distinguish herself in the battle for civil rights.

Bruce's recording career lasted just a few years. I've only been able to find a single album, made in 1958 for Riverside, plus several numbers from 1957, one with Clark Terry and seven with Luther Henderson. I've assembled all these for this post.

The Halfway to Dawn LP

I transferred Bruce's Riverside LP, Halfway to Dawn, from a record in my collection. For that outing, she was backed by a talented group of jazz musicians - trumpeter Joe Wilder, pianist Jimmy Jones, guitarist Everett Barksdale and bassist Al Hall.

Her playlist is particularly well chosen, and likely reflects the repertoire she employed in such New York cabarets as Le Ruban Bleu and The Blue Angel. There are multiple songs by Rodgers and Hart/Hammerstein, the Gershwins and Duke Ellington. We also hear Bart Howard's "Let Me Love You," a favorite of the cabaret crowd, and the superb Coates-Attwood song "No One Ever Tells You." The latter is associated with Frank Sinatra, whom Bruce named her favorite singer. (I can't disagree.)

Joe Wilder

The set opens with the too-seldom-heard "Lucky to Be Me," a Bernstein, Comden and Green song from On the Town. Judging from Joe Wilder's solo, the trumpeter thinks that Lenny was inspired by the opening verse from "Stardust."

Closing the set is the wonderful "Don't Like Goodbyes," the Harold Arlen-Truman Capote song from House of Flowers that was introduced by Pearl Bailey. The song is certainly well done, but Bruce did not have the personality of a Pearlie Mae (who does?). and the result sounds cautious. But let's not make too much of this, because she was a talented singer, one with excellent diction who is often eloquent on her own terms.

Bruce had been introduced to Riverside records by trumpeter Clark Terry, then of the Ellington band and also a Riverside artist. Terry had used her on his Duke with a Difference LP, where she sang "In a Sentimental Mood." That effort is included in the download.

Songs with Luther Henderson

The distinguished arranger Luther Henderson was relatively early in his career when he recorded the Last Night When We Were Young LP in 1958. It appears to have been Henderson's first solo outing.

Luther Henderson

Henderson used Marian Bruce and Ozzie Bailey as his vocalists, Bruce on one side, Bailey on the other, with duets on two numbers. They are backed by an unidentified sextet.

Bruce's solo numbers are again similar to those you might have heard in a night spot of the period - "All in Fun," "Last Night When We Were Young," "Lonesomest Gal in Town" and "You Can Have Him," along with Henderson's "What Can I Say to You Now." On these selections, Bruce sounds more at ease than on her own LP. 

These numbers were remastered from lossless files found on Internet Archive.

Marian Bruce Logan and the Civil Rights Movement

Marian Bruce Logan and Coretta Scott King

Marian Bruce became a significant civil rights figure after her singing career ended. By that time, she was known as Marian Bruce Logan, having married Dr. Arthur Logan, an eminent surgeon and community leader in New York. 

Biographical information at the University of South Carolina notes that she first engaged in community work through the Student Emergency Fund, which helped African-American students make tuition payments. This effort came to the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who asked for her assistance in raising funds for his Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 

She soon became the first Northern member of the SCLC board, remaining with the organization until 1969. She capped her career in 1977 when she was appointed as the Human Rights Commissioner of New York City by Mayor Abraham Beame.

Marian Bruce Logan died in 1993 at age 73. Her New York Times obituary is in the download, together with a few brief reviews of the LPs.