b. Marva Ann Manning, 1st May 1944, Kansas, Missouri, U.S.A.
d. 22nd December 2012, Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.A.
Marva Whitney hails from Kansas.
She married a man whose surname was Whitney in the 1960's and then later (in 1970) married Ellis 'Gripey' Taylor, who ran Forte Records in Kansas.
Marva recorded for a while as Marva Whitney-Taylor in the early '70s.
She is one of a few female vocalists that were part of the James Brown Revue.
Others included Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins and Martha High.
Marva's orgiginal recordings are now highly collectable.
She began performing at the age of three with her family's touring gospel group, the Manning Gospel Singers.
Marva studied music in college and was lead singer in the R & B group Tommy Gadson & the Derbys.
In 1967, she signed on with the James Brown Revue as a featured female vocalist.
Marva toured with James Brown in Vietnam and toured around the globe with the singer.
In 1969, she made her first solo recordings for the King imprint, James Brown's label at the time.
She achieved a Top 20 hit on the R & B charts with 'It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who to Sock It To)'.
The follow-up, 'Things Got to Get Better (Get Together),' just missed the R & B Top 20.
Marva remained with the Revue until 1970.
Her songs 'Unwind Yourself' and the duet 'You Got to Have a Job (If You Don't Work)' have been highly popular with rare groove collectors and the sampling artists.
Her only studio LP, 'It's My Thing', was released in 1969.
She later went on to record for the Isley Brothers' T-Neck label, as well as Nashboro, however her most popular material is from the James Brown years.
Seven of those tracks were compiled on the Polydor collection 'James Brown's Original Funky Diva's'.
Marva Whitney and Charles Waring of Blues and Soul (above) - 2007 Album
She had reunited sporadically with James Brown for live performances over the years.
Marva Whitney passed away from pneumonia in December 2012.
Albums:
It's My Thing (King Records 1969)
Live And Lowdown At The Apollo (King Records 1970)
I Am What I Am (Shout Records 2007)
