Marcie Michelle Free (born Mark Edward Free; April 12, 1954) is an American rock singer, best known as the lead singer of

King Kobra King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. History For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie ...

, Signal and Unruly Child.

History

Early career, King Kobra, and Signal (1973–1989)

Free started singing professionally at the age of 19 while living in Flint, Michigan. In 1975, Free moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, which eventually led to her relocating to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1979. Free met

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( ; born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is the older brother ...

in 1983, shortly before Appice was fired from Ozzy Osbourne's backing band. Appice recruited her to be the vocalist for his new project,

; while King Kobra was initially intended to be a solo project, Appice eventually decided to recruit two guitarists and a bassist to build a full band. The band was signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1984. Free recorded two albums with King Kobra, '' Ready to Strike'' and ''

Thrill of a Lifetime Thrill of a Lifetime may refer to: * Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series), a Canadian television reality series * Thrill of a Lifetime (film) Thrill of a Lifetime may refer to: * Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series) ''Thrill of a Lifetime'' is a televisi ...

'', before leaving King Kobra in November 1986 to pursue other musical interests. In 1987, producer Peter McIan began to form a solo project called The Fugitive Kind with help from

Erik Scott Erik Scott (January 17, 1948 – October 11, 2019) was an American bassist, record producer, and songwriter. Scott played bass for the band Flo & Eddie in the 1970s as well as Alice Cooper in the early 1980s, for whom he also produced. In the 199 ...

, a keyboardist, bassist, and producer, as well as Mark Baker, a songwriter. The group also recruited drummer Jan Uvena. Free joined the group later, after which

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. A traditional record producer since 1970, Fair has been credited with orchestral production work on several commercially success ...

, then a new senior A&R representative at

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

, renamed the group Signal. Prior to the adoption of the name Signal, Free unsuccessfully proposed several alternate names for the group, one of which was Unruly Child, which she would use for a later group. Signal released one album on EMI, ''Loud and Clear'', in 1989. The album featured several outside songwriters, and Free did not have much involvement in the songwriting on ''Loud and Clear.'' Signal was short-lived, as shortly after the band released their only album, EMI executives dropped Signal from the label and did not spend any money to promote the album after its release. Free left Signal in October 1990, and the band broke up shortly afterwards.

Unruly Child and solo career (1990–1995)

In 1990, Free joined up with guitarist Bruce Gowdy and keyboardist Guy Allison, forming the group Unruly Child. Unruly Child signed with

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

in 1991 and released their self-titled debut album in 1992. In 1993, Free sang the theme song, "(To Be) The Best of the Best", for the action film ''

Best of the Best II ''Best of the Best II'' is a 1993 martial arts film directed by Robert Radler, and starring Eric Roberts and Phillip Rhee. It is the first sequel to the 1989 film '' Best of the Best''. The plot follows four of the characters from the origina ...

''. Also in 1993, a solo album consisting of demos Free had sung for a mother/daughter songwriting duo named Judithe and Robin Randall was released on Now & Then Records, an independent label in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The album, entitled ''Long Way from Love'', was re-released on

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music (formerly Frontiers Records) is an Italian record label that primarily focuses on hard rock. The label was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is headquartered in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino began his care ...

in 1998. This album version included some of the live performances Free gave while in

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, for the first rock festival known as "The Gods of AOR" in October 1993. Shortly after the release of ''Long Way from Love'', Unruly Child, having lost their record deal with Atlantic/Interscope, reformed under the moniker Twelve Pound Sledge. They were writing new material in hopes of re-signing with another American label. That never happened, though songs from these sessions were later released in 1995, as a solo album Free released on independent labels in Germany and Japan, entitled ''Tormented''.

Unruly Child reunion (2009–present)

In September 2009, Free, Gowdy, and Allison reunited as Unruly Child and signed a recording contract with Frontiers Records. They released a new album, ''Worlds Collide'', in 2010. Unruly Child released a new album in 2014 entitled ''Down the Rabbit Hole'' on the band's own label "Unruly Records".

Personal life

On June 24, 1989, Free married Laurie Richardson. They have since divorced. Free came out as a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

in November 1993. Free experienced

gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to inconsistency between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender i ...

prior to her transition and changed her name to Marcie Michelle Free. Free stated that prior to her transition, she struggled with self-harm ideation and that transitioning was a " ecisionbetween life and death," but "very rewarding," and that " f shewould've continued erlife as Mark hewould have died for sure." After Free came out as transgender, her career suffered and " erwhole musical world quickly fell apart," and she cited her post-transition career struggles as one reason for the temporary dissolution of Unruly Child. Free also stated that people in the music industry with whom she had prior connections shunned her after her transition. Between the breakup of Signal and the formation of Unruly Child, Free worked as a

courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

in Los Angeles. In 1995, Free temporarily retired from the music business and moved back to Michigan to be close to her family. Free stated that during Unruly Child's hiatus, she " ivedlife and orkedas a normal person does every day." Free experienced

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

but became sober around 2008, crediting her "close personal relationship with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

" for her sobriety.

Artistry

Free has cited

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

as one of her greatest inspirations and has included thanks to Franklin in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of some of her albums. Some of the artists Free grew up listening and singing to include The Four Seasons,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved pea ...

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, as well as several

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

artists.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Long Way from Love'' (1993)

with King Kobra

* '' Ready to Strike'' (1985) * ''

'' (1986)

with Signal

* ''Loud & Clear'' (1989) * ''Signal Live'' (2000)

with Unruly Child

* '' Unruly Child'' (1992) * ''Tormented'' (1995) as Marcie Free * ''Worlds Collide'' (2010) * ''Down the Rabbit Hole'' (2014) * ''Can't Go Home'' (2017) * ''Big Blue World'' (2019) * ''Our Glass House'' (2020)

Guest appearances

* David Cassidy – ''

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom ''The Partridge Family''. After completing high school, Cassidy purs ...

'' (1990) * Desmond Child – ''

Discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

'' (1991) * Julio Iglesias – ''

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

'' (1994) * Bobby Kimball – '' Rise Up'' (1994) * Venus & Mars – ''New Moon Rising'' (1998) * Venus & Mars – ''Grand Trine'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free, Marcie 1954 births Living people Musicians from South Bend, Indiana American heavy metal singers LGBTQ people from Indiana American LGBTQ singers King Kobra members American women heavy metal singers American transgender women Transgender women singers