Bobby Marchan (April 30, 1930 – December 5, 1999) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, recording artist, bandleader, MC, and female impersonator.
Marchan was born Oscar James Gibson in Youngstown, Ohio and grew up with adolescent loves of blues music and men in drag. By 1953, he was working in a troupe of female impersonators known as the Powder Box Revue, who came to New Orleans to perform at
![]()
the Dew Drop Inn. He liked the city's liberal attitude and decided to stay. Marchan became the MC at the Tiajuana Club, where he discussed make-up with Little Richard.
the Dew Drop Inn. He liked the city's liberal attitude and decided to stay. Marchan became the MC at the Tiajuana Club, where he discussed make-up with Little Richard.He made two records in 1954 ("Just A Little Walk" for Aladdin and "You Made A Fool Out Of Me" for Dot), but they made little impact. The New Orleans pianist Huey Smith took Johnny Vincent of Ace Records to see Marchan at the Tiajuana. Vincent gave him $200 and a record contract, thinking that he had signed a female vocalist.
From 1957, Marchan also toured with the Clowns, the band led by Huey "Piano" Smith, sometimes performing as lead singer and bandleader in place of Smith, who reputedly would stay in New Orleans to write and record while his band played clubs and toured. The touring band included James Booker on piano. Marchan also recorded with the band, singing on Huey Smith and the Clowns' hit records "Rockin'
![]()
Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,""Don't You Just Know It," and the original version of "Sea Cruise" (later recorded by Frankie Ford), among others.
In 1958 Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns released one of the greatest double-sided singles in rock'n'roll - "High Blood Pressure" and "Don't You Just Know It". The latter, with its call and response chorus, was written around a phrase used by their coach driver. The single climbed to No 9 in the US charts. Their album, Having A Good Time, shows that Smith knew how to write for Marchan's soaring high-pitched vocals, but Marchan was not happy at seeing only Smith's face on the cover.
In 1959, he left the Clowns and resumed his solo career, on Bobby Robinson's Fire record label. He had a number one hit on the national R&B chart in 1960 with "There's Something on Your Mind", a cover of a song written and first performed by Big Jay McNeely, but with Marchan adding lengthy spoken word passages.
![]()
A series of Fire singles followed in rapid succession, among them "Booty Green,""All in My Mind,""What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You," and "Yes, It's Written All Over Your Face," but none earned much attention on the national charts.
In 1964 Marchan toured with Otis Redding, who recommended him to Stax, where he cut two singles, "What Can I Do" and "Mary's Little Lamb". He moved from label to label and recorded the original version of what later became Slade's first hit, "Get Down and Get With It" for Dial records in 1965. The song was covered by Little Richard, and then reworked in 1971 by British glam rock band Slade as "Get Down and Get with It", giving the band their first chart hit.
After moving to Cameo-Parkway Records he had some success with "There's Something About You, Baby", and then his second solo R&B chart hit in 1966 with "Shake Your Tambourine." Subsequent efforts, including 1967's "Meet Me in Church" and "You Better Hold On," received scant attention, however, and after 1968's "(Ain't No Reason) For Girls to Be Lonely" -- a one-shot for Gamble -- Marchan spent nearly a decade without a record deal, returning to his drag roots yet again also regularly performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
In recent years, Marchan developed cancer and had a kidney removed. He worked when he could and Westside Records had rush- released a Bobby Marchan CD, Clown Jewels - the Masters 1956-75, so that he could see it before he died in Gretna, Louisiana on December 5, 1999, aged 69.Marchan was proud of his music, saying "I thought we made records that were different from everyone else in the 1950s." (Edited from Wikipedia, The Independent & AllMusic)