Marla Glen
Marla Glen (born January 3, 1960) is an American singer from Chicago who has been based in Germany since 1998.
Career
Marla Glen was born to Mexican-American and Jamaican-American parents[1] and grew up on the South Side of Chicago.[2] Glen received a toy harmonica from Muddy Waters when he was five, which started his fascination with music.[2] When he was 11 years old, he wrote his first song, "Repertoire", which later appeared on his album Love and Respect.[3]
Glen won first prize performing at a local open mic contest in New Orleans and was rewarded with a trip to France, where he first performed in front of a European audience and after a few years signed with Vogue Records. He formed the Marla Glen Band in Niort, France.[3] He was once a bodyguard for Nina Simone,[4] and was mentored by and lived with both Simone and Bo Diddley during his early career.[5]
He released his debut album entitled This Is Marla Glen in 1993 followed by Love and Respect in 1995. These albums have received platinum and gold awards.[3]
He release a memoir co-authored with Stacey McClain in 2023.[5]
Personal life
Glen moved to Germany in 1998.[1] On July 2, 2004, he entered into a civil union with Sabrina Conley, but they later got divorced.[6][7] Glen came out as a trans man in 2023 and kept the same name.[2][8]
Discography
- 1993: This is Marla Glen (Disques Vogue)
- 1995: Love and Respect (Disques Vogue)
- 1997: Our World (Ariola)
- 1998: The Best of Marla Glen
- 2003: Friends
- 2005: Greatest Hits Live
- 2006: Dangerous
- 2011: Humanology
- 2020: Unexpected
References
- ^ a b Buhre, Jakob (28 August 2002). "Marla Glen im Interview: "I'm melting away, I'm melting away... - das kann doch nicht die Botschaft sein!"". Planet Interview (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ a b c "Marla Glen: Coming-out als trans Mann und neuer Song". queer.de (in German). 2023-08-03. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Marla Glen". HIGHRESAUDIO. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ "Marla Glen". männer* (in German). Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b Jack, Fisher (2023-09-15). "Renowned Singer-Songwriter Marla Glen Set to Release His 'Long Awaited' Authorized Memoir: 'The Cost of Freedom'". EURweb. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ Adler, Sharon (2004-06-30). "Marla Glen und Sabrina Conley". AVIVA (in German). Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ Neumann, Olaf (2011-05-01). "Die Musik hat Marla Glen gerettet". Derwesten.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2011-06-27.
- ^ Harris, Janelle (2023-09-13). "Renowned Singer-Songwriter Marla Glen Set to Release 'Long Awaited' Authorized Memoir: 'The Cost of Freedom'". Sheen Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-06.