Marjorie Moehlenkamp Finlay (October 5, 1928 – June 1, 2003) was an American opera singer and television personality. A coloratura soprano, Finlay performed concert, opera, and supper club singing. After winning a talent contest in 1950, she toured on the ABC radio network show Music With the Girls. Finlay later had her own television program and served as an MC for El Show Pan-Americano in Puerto Rico. She toured South America and released an album in Mexico.[1] She is the maternal grandmother of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who dedicated her songs "Marjorie" and "Timeless" to her.[2]
Moehlenkamp in February 1950 after winning the ABC Music With the Girls talent contest.
She was a singer in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's pop concert at Kiel Auditorium.[10]
In 1950, Moehlenkamp was working as a receptionist at Boatmen's National Bank in St. Louis. She won a talent contest on the ABC network show Music With the Girls.[5] This awarded her a radio spot and she toured on the network radio show for 15 months.[5] During the summer of 1951, Moehlenkamp studied at the Berkshire Music Center and then in New York City on the advice of musician Edwin McArthur.[10][9] Moving to Puerto Rico, Finlay had her own television program and performed in concerts, operas, and supper clubs, including a two-week stint at the Caribe Hilton Hotel.[11]
Finlay was the mistress of ceremonies for El Show Pan-Americano on APA-TV in Santurce, Puerto Rico.[10][11] She was active in the Pro Arte Societies, a civic music organization. Her Spanish was reportedly "bad" enough to be funny to her audiences. Her television show ran six nights a week for 17 months.[10] In 1962, Finlay performed at a Kiel Auditorium Pop Concert. Her performance included "Fanciulla È Sbocciato L'Amore" from La rondine and "Jewel song" in addition to pop songs.[12]
Personal life
She married Robert Finlay, president of Raymond Construction Company, on March 22, 1952, in Palm Beach, Florida.[9] After her marriage, Finlay and her husband moved to Havana, Cuba, where his office was located before relocating to Puerto Rico due to political unrest. They moved to Caracas before returning to Santurce, Puerto Rico with their children. Finlay gave birth to Alison Finlay in 1957,[13] and then to Andrea Gardner Finlay in 1958,[14] who later became the mother of Taylor Swift.[15]
Finlay's granddaughter, Taylor Swift, on her Speak Now World Tour in 2011. Swift has credited Finlay for inspiring her to pursue a music career.[16]
Death and legacy
Finlay died on June 1, 2003, in Reading, Pennsylvania, at the age of 74.[17] Swift cited Finlay for inspiring her to pursue a career in music.[4] The character Swift portrayed in the 2015 music video "Wildest Dreams" was inspired by Finlay.[18][19] In 2020, Swift released the song "Marjorie" from her ninth studio album Evermore; Swift credited her grandmother with backing vocals which were sampled in the track.[4][20] In 2022, Swift included a photograph of Finlay in the music video of "Anti-Hero".[21] When Swift re-recorded her third studio album, Speak Now, she released a vault track (a song not published on the original album) called "Timeless". The lyric video included various photos of Finlay and her husband, along with photos of Swift's paternal grandparents, Rose and Archie Dean Swift.[22]
Awards and honors
Year
Title
Notes
Ref
1949
$200 scholarship (equivalent to $2,460 in 2022)
National music contest hosted by the magazine Music News and the Metropolitan School of Music in Chicago
^ abcdeBrink, Margaret J. "She's a star in Puerto Rico". Globe-Democrat. St. Louis, Missouri.
^ abcdGoddard, Bob (January 9, 1962). "In Our Town". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. p. 30. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Pop Concert Sunday At Kiel". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. January 13, 1962. p. 26. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
