Queen Esther Marrow was discovered by the late Duke Ellington when she was barely out of her teens. Queen went on to tour, record and form a close personal bond with the great man who gave her the first professional experience of her career. Later work with Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba, Joe Zawinul, Lena Horne, Mahalia Jackson, BB King, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and many others followed.

One of the high points of Queen Esther‘s life was her work with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his World Crusade. “Spending time and actually getting to know Dr. King”, recalls Queen, “means more to me than I can ever express.”

Television and film roles followed. She appeared on three PBS Specials and as the Hero‘s mother in Motown‘s The Last Dragon. She is especially proud of her appearance on Sesame Street as Grouch‘s mother.

Queen has recorded numerous albums. Early collector‘s recordings on Flying Dutchman and Fantasy Records include Sister Woman and Esther Marrow… Newport News, Virginia and more recently God Cares on EMI Gospel.

Broadway roles have been numerous beginning with the role of Auntie Em in the original production of The Wiz with Stephanie Mills and later in Truly Blessed starring as Mahalia Jackson. Truly Blessed written by Queen Esther was honored with three Helen Hayes awards nominations including Best New Play.

One of Queen‘s proudest achievements was the founding of the Harlem Gospel Singers together with Michael Brenner and Roseanne Kirk. “Giving opportunities to young people is something that means so much to me”, said Queen Esther. She is currently involved in developing young people‘s cultural programs in her hometown of Newport News, Virginia.

In a while fans can anticipate a new CD from Queen. She was recently working in the studio and looks forward to the recording‘s release in 2010.