Margie Rayburn (June 3, 1924 – June 14, 2000), was an American traditional pop singer.
Rayburn was born Marjorie Helen Orwig in the San Joaquin Valley in the central California town of Madera. Following graduation from the Hollywood High School, she started her musical career during the Second World War. While still in her late teens she began singing with big bands and in that capacity entertained American soldiers. entertaining the troops as a big band singer. After the war she sang wilh Ray Anthony’s Orchestra, and then toured with Gene Autry, worked the San Francisco nightclubs and had a few singles released in 1954-55 on Alma, S & G and Capitol.
Around 1954 she joined the Sunnysiders, a vocal and instrumental group, formed by two former members of Spike Jones's City Slickers, banjo player Freddy Morgan and Jad Paul. Margie's husband, Norman Malkin collaborated with Morgan on material for the group and is sometimes listed as a member of the Sunnysiders. This group had a hit in 1955 with "Hey, Mr. Banjo", which was also issued in the UK. Norman's name is often misspelled as Milkin.
Margie left the Sunnysiders in 1956 for a solo career on Liberty Records. Her fifth single for the label, "I'm Available", was her only hit, but a big one, reaching # 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1957. The tune was written and first recorded by Dave Burgess in his pre-Champs days. Rayburn was already 33 at the time, but sounded like a 17-year old girl on the sensuous "I'm Available".
Liberty Records was hopeful that Rayburn would have a follow-up hit single. Between 1958 and 1960 Rayburn recorded six more singles with the label as well as her 1959 album, Margie. The album featured accomplished covers of pop standards like “Come Rain Or Come Shine”, “Almost Like Being In Love” and “Blues In the Night”.
Numbers of her songs used a lot of echo and multi-tracked vocals effects to give her voice the suggestive quality Rayburn achieved on “I’m Available.” Don Ralke and his Orchestra often were in the studio with Rayburn to record her singles. Rayburn left Liberty in 1960 and signed on with Challenge Records. She teamed up again with the songwriter who wrote “I’m Available”, Dave Burgess of The Champs. He penned a new song called “Try Me” and suggested she make a recording. It was released in December 1960.
The song caught on in Vancouver and peaked at #12, despite receiving next to no airplay south of the border. It didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and it’s best chart performance was in San Antonio, Texas, peaking at #46 on KTSA which had a Top 100 chart called the San Antonio Survey. In Los Angeles Rayburn’s husband, Norman Malkin, went on to become a producer for Dot Records in the late 50s. He helped Margie make the transition from Challenge Records to Dot Records. With Dot she recorded two songs aimed at the teen audience: “Hello, Mr. Heartache” and “Bobby Is My Hobby”. Both singles flopped.
By 1965 Rayburn moved on to Capitol Records and recorded “Maker of Raindrops and Roses”, written by Australian country singer Arthur Blanch. Like her other tunes since her brief limelight with “I’m Available”, there was no interest. By this time the pop charts were full of tunes by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Animals, Petula Clark and The Kinks.
Unable to find another hit, Rayburn last recorded in 1966 then retired from the music industry. She settled down in Los Angeles with her husband and fell into obscurity. She died of a heart attack on June 14, 2000 in Oceanside, California, at the age of 76.
(Edited
from This Is My story, Ray McGinnis article & Wikipedia)