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Carol Patricia Mas (born October 20, 1955), professionally known as Carolyne Mas, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer. She broke out of the
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
music scene boom of the late 1970s, along with other artists such as
Steve Forbert Samuel Stephen Forbert (born December 13, 1954) is an American pop/folk singer-songwriter. His 1979 song "Romeo's Tune" reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary (chart ...
,
The Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...
, and
Willie Nile Willie Nile (born Robert Anthony Noonan; June 7, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980, Nile released his self-titled debut album. His early career was interrupted by various problems, but he eventually returned to recording and perf ...
. She is credited with having started the Songwriter's Workshop at the
Cornelia Street Cafe The Cornelia Street Cafe was a restaurant and bar at 29 Cornelia Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, opened in July 1977. The Cornelia Street Café had a 41-year inning in the West Village. It was named "a cultural as well as a culinar ...
in 1977, which later went on to become the Songwriter's Exchange, featuring singer-songwriters such as Jack Hardy and
Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of Folk music, folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the ...
. Although she remains relatively unknown in the United States, except for a loyal
cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
of fans, she managed to gain popularity in Europe and Canada, mostly due to the use of television as a promotional tool in these markets. Her records did well in the charts in Canada, but her greatest success was in Germany, where a live album, '' Mas Hysteria'', was released by Phonogram. It was originally intended to promote her upcoming appearance on
Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started on 4 October 1974. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz bands have perf ...
in January 1981, and included her most significant hit, "Sittin' in the Dark".


Life and career

Mas became well known for her energetic live shows, especially from 1979 to 1981 while signed to
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
. She recorded three albums while with Mercury: ''Carolyne Mas'' (1979), ''Hold On'' (1980), and ''Modern Dreams'' (1981). She was often hailed as being the female
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
, a distinction that served to set her apart from her female contemporaries. She toured the United States, Canada, and Europe extensively with a band of musicians which included David Landau (the brother of Bruce Springsteen's manager,
Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received that institution's Ahme ...
), Crispin Cioe of the Uptown Horns (who later went on to play with
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
and
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
), bassist Ivan Elias (1950–1995; who played with
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
from 1981 to 1985), drummer Bobby Chouinard (1953–1997; who also played with
Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...
), and keyboardist
Charlie Giordano Charles Giordano (born October 13, 1954) is an American keyboardist and accordionist. Giordano is known primarily for his work with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, replacing Danny Federici as the band's organist following the ...
(who would eventually go on to become a member of Bruce Springsteen's
E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...
after playing several years with
Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...
). Her association with Springsteen included her involvement in the 3M benefit at the
Stone Pony The Stone Pony is a music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...
. Mas moved to
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
, Germany, in 1989 where she continued to tour and record. She was signed to
SPV GmbH SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...
from 1990 to 1993, and released three albums for them: ''Action Pact'', which was recorded in Springfield, Missouri, in 1988 with the Skeletons/
the Morells The Morells are an American rock band from Springfield, Missouri. They released an album titled ''Shake and Push'' in 1982. The band's members have included bassist and producer Lou Whitney, guitarist D. Clinton Thompson, keyboardists Maralie ...
; a live album entitled ''Live!'', recorded at Jovel Music Hall in Münster, Germany, in November 1990; and a studio album, ''Reason Street'', which was recorded in Bremen in 1992 and produced by Charlton Pettus, her friend at the time, who is now a member of the band
Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
. From 1989 to 1993, Mas toured throughout Germany, performing also in Austria and Hungary. In August 1990, she performed on a television show in Moscow, which was broadcast to 400 million viewers. Mas returned to the United States in September 1993. In 1999, Mas reunited with producer-guitarist Steve Burgh (1950–2005), who had produced her first two albums, ''Carolyne Mas'' and ''Hold On'', while she was signed to Mercury Records twenty years before. They recorded an album's worth of material at Burgh's studio, Baby Monster, in New York City. For these sessions she was also reunited with keyboardist Giordano and guitarist-keyboardist Charlton Pettus. The album is called ''Brand New World'' and was released by Mas in 2005, subsequent to Burgh's untimely death, as a tribute to him. Mas currently lives in Arizona with her husband and son. After completing one year at
Cochise College Cochise College is a public college in Arizona. Founded on September 21, 1964, the school has campuses in Douglas, Arizona, Douglas and Sierra Vista, Arizona, Sierra Vista, and centers in Benson, Arizona, Benson, Fort Huachuca, and Willcox, Arizo ...
with highest honors and being inducted into the
Phi Theta Kappa Phi Theta Kappa ( or PTK) is an honor society for students of associate degree-granting colleges. Its headquarters are in Jackson, Mississippi and it has more than 4.3 million members in nearly 1,300 chapters in eleven nations. History Phi The ...
International Honor Society, she transferred to
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
(ASU) in order to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Health. In February 2017, she was inducted into ASU's chapter of the
National Society of Collegiate Scholars The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) is an American academic honor society for college students. It was established in 1994 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. NSCS has active chapters at nearly 300 ...
, and in January 2018, she was inducted into ASU’s chapter of the Golden Key International Honor Society. On May 6 of 2019, Mas graduated summa cum laude from ASU, where she was also chosen outstanding student and selected to represent her degree plan at the Edson College of Nursing and Healthcare convocation on May 7 of the same year. Mas graduated with a Master of Science in Medical Nutrition on May 3, 2021, and she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Integrative and Functional Nutrition at
Saybrook University Saybrook University is a private university in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1971 by Eleanor Camp Criswell and others. It offers postgraduate education with a focus on humanistic psychology. It features low residency, master's, and ...
. Although semi-retired from the music business, Mas occasionally performs in New York City, Germany, and Italy, where she released a studio album entitled ''Across the River'' on Italian label Route 61 Music in October 2013. In a May 30, 2019 article in
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
Magazine, New York radio legend Jim Kerr, formerly of
WPLJ WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, licensed to New York, New York. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), based in Franklin, Tennessee, it broadcasts EMF's Christian adult contemporary formatted p ...
, singled out Mas when recalling his many years at the now defunct rock station.


Discography


Albums

*''Carolyne Mas'' (1979) - AUS #51 *''Hold On'' (1980) *''Mas Hysteria'' (1980) *''Modern Dreams'' (1981) *''Action Pact'' (1989) *''Live !'' (1992) *''Reason Street'' (1993) *''Beyond Mercury'' (2003) *''Brand New World'' (2005) *''Across the River'' (2013) *''Live in Germany 1981'' (2014) *''Somebody like Me'' (43 Tracks live + Studio, recorded in Germany 1989–1993, download only, 2014) *''Let's Come together - Live in Bremen 1989'' (2022)


Singles

*"Stillsane" (1979) (Canada No. 53, US No. 71, AUS NO. 44) *"Quote Goodbye Quote" (1979) (Canada No. 60; UK No. 71) *"Driving on the Radio" (1993)


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mas, Carolyne 1955 births Living people American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women Arizona State University alumni