Marie Queenie Lyons
Marie "Queenie" Lyons was a soul singer born in Archibald, Louisiana, who moved to Ashtabula, Ohio, at a young age. She began her professional career in 1963 at Club Castaway in Geneva, Ohio, and later performed with major acts like King Curtis Band in 1964, Jackie Wilson, Fats Domino, The Coasters, Jerry Lee Lewis, and James Brown.
Lyons started on the Chitlin' Circuit and worked as a songwriter in the 1950s, collaborating on hits like "If I May" for Nat King Cole, earning a BMI Song Award in 1955. She recorded under pseudonyms such as Shelley Shoop and released singles like "Fair Shake" in 1965. By the late 1960s, she toured briefly with James Brown as one of his "Funky Divas."
Her sole album, Soul Fever, was recorded around 1969–1970 at King Records' De Luxe Studios in Cincinnati, produced by Henry Glover with a mix of covers ("Fever," "Try Me") and originals. Singles included "Drown In My Own Tears" and "Fever" on De Luxe in 1969. The album became a rare cult classic in Southern soul and Northern soul scenes.
After Soul Fever's release, Lyons vanished from the music scene, never recording or performing publicly again, earning comparisons to a "Southern enigma" like a Black Bobbie Gentry. Details of her later life remain unknown.
Soul Fever
Written-By – Rose Marie McCoy 3:15
A2 Daddy's House
Written-By – Hal Miller, Rose Marie McCoy 3:08
A3 You Used Me
Written-By – Don Pullen 3:35
A4 Your Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing
Written-By – Don Pullen 2:24
A5 Snake In The Grass
Written-By – Don Pullen 2:39
A6 Your Key Don't Fit It Anymore
Written-By – Alecia Evelyn, Henry Glover 2:22
B1 Fever
Written-By – Cooley, Davenport 2:56
B2 I Don't Want Nobody To Have It But You
Written-By – Don Pullen 2:01
B3 We'll Cry Together
Written-By – Helen Miller, Rose Marie McCoy 3:12
B4 I'll Drown In My Tears
Written-By – H. Glover 2:37
B5 I Want My Freedom
Written-By – Don Pullen 2:28
B6 Try Me
Written-By – James Brown 2:35
Label: DeLuxe – DLP-12001
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1970
Genre: R&B Soul, Blues
Style: Soul, Funk
Marie "Queenie" Lyons' only album, Soul Fever, is a highly-regarded, "supremely funky and soulful affair" that has achieved cult classic status among funk and soul enthusiasts. Critics and listeners praise her powerful, raw, and captivating vocal performance.
Lyons is noted for her "high-decibel, full-throated vocals" that have a lot of "grit and character," drawing comparisons to early Mavis Staples, Tina Turner, and Aretha Franklin.
Despite being critically acclaimed upon release (Billboard listed it as a "four star" pick in the Soul category in 1970), the album never found a large audience, likely due to turmoil at the Starday-King label. It is now considered an essential, overlooked piece of soul history that "lives up to the hype" for collectors.
For fans of R&B and soul, Soul Fever is considered a must-have, delivering a thrilling vocal performance with a raw, natural voice that many find impossible to ignore. The quality of the tracks ensures it avoids the "one or two great songs and a lot of filler" fate of some obscure reissues.
You can often find reissues of the album on vinyl or CD from retailers like Amazon or check availability on Discogs.