Rita Nagel, known professionally as Mary Ann Nagel, is a German singer. Nagel is notable for being the founding member of the Arabesque girl group in 1977.

Mary Ann Nagel
Birth nameRita Nagel
Also known asMary Ann
Born1955 (age 68–69)
West Germany
Genres
OccupationsSinger
Years active1960s-70s
LabelsIntercord

Life and career edit

Mary Ann Nagel was born as Rita Nagel in 1955. She took on the pseudonym of "Mary Ann" and began to sing from a very young age. She first released children's songs: So Viele Fragen / Laß mich nicht so lang allein" in 1968 and "Pony Girl / Du Ich Lieb' Dich Candy Man" in 1972.[1][2] This was followed by schlager single "Schau Mich Nicht So Böse An / Ein Tag So Schön Wie Heut" in 1973.[3] The singles did not make the German charts.[4] Inspired by the recent success of the Silver Convention and other girl groups, Nagel and producers sought to create another girl group.[5]

Arabesque was formed in 1977, and "Hello Mr. Monkey" was released as the first single featuring lead vocals by Nagel. Her participation in the group was short-lived however, she only recorded two songs with the group: disco songs "Hello Mr. Monkey / Buggy Boy". Mary Ann was part of Arabesque for a little over a year; she left in September 1978 and was replaced by Heike Rimbeau. Nagel's family life became more important than her career as a singer. She was married, had a son, and disliked the long commute from her hometown of Karlsruhe to Frankfurt am Main, where the group was based.

References edit

  1. ^ "Mary Ann [Germany] - So Viele Fragen". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Mary Ann* - Pony Girl / Du Ich Lieb' Dich Candy Man". Discogs. 1972. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Mary Ann* - Schau Mich Nicht So Böse An / Ein Tag So Schön Wie Heut'". Discogs. 1973. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  4. ^ "メリー・アンのシングル". www6.plala.or.jp. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  5. ^ "memoryradio • Thema anzeigen - Mary Ann". memoryradio.de. Retrieved 25 March 2018.