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He was an R&B bandleader, singer-songwriter and
female impersonator botn Oscar James Gibson in Youngstown, Ohio. He used to be fascinated by the
female impersonators in his local theatres and began to perform a comedy
and singing act where he was in drag.
After having moved to new Orleans for it's relaxed atmosphere he formed
The Powder Box Revue that was a female impersonator troupe that
appeared in a regular booking at the Dewdrop Inn. When he dropped his alternative persona he would emcee
at The Tijuana Club and was signed up to Aladdin Records, Dot and Ace
Records in that order. He had
his regional first hit in 1956 with "Chickee Wah-Wah" and in 1957 he joined
Huey "Piano" Smith to form the Clowns where he would occasionally sing lead
vocals. He made several
recordings with them with one of his first being "Don't You Just Know It" was
released in 1958. He
would see his own personal success though with his solo No. 1 R&B chart
topper "There Is Something On Your Mind". After having been recommended to Stax by Otis Redding he
cut the song "Get Down With It" which would later become a hit for the
British glam-rock band Slade.
He relocated to Pensacola, Florida, during the 1970s where he was a
bandleader and had returned to female impersonation, but in 1977 he
returned to New Orleans to become an emcee again. That same year he was still
recording and released the single "Disco Rabbit" which was recorded in
Nashville, Tennessee. A
regular participant at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and a presenter of
local gong shows, he slowed his activities down when he was struck down by cancer. He would still remain involved in
the industry though and would scout and promote hip-hop acts and be
involved in the formation of Cash Money Records. He made his last professional
appearance at the 1999 Essence Music Festival but after suffering from a
long illness he died in December of that year aged 69.
Bobby Marchan recordings
Disco Rabbit (Bobby Marchan)
I Wanna Bump With the
Big Fat Woman (Bobby Marchan/Bernie
Lee McGinty)
Sources:
- http://www.queermusicheritage.us/drag-marchan.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Marchan
- http://www.answers.com/topic/bobby-marchan
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