Margaret Cox is an American singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the

Minneapolis sound The Minneapolis sound is a subgenre of funk rock that incorporates elements of New wave music, new wave and synth-pop. Started at Sound 80 with tracks like “Funkytown” by Lipps, Inc and pioneered by Minneapolis-based musician Prince (musicia ...

band

Ta Mara and the Seen Ta Mara and the Seen was an American R&B group based in Minneapolis. They were signed by A&M Records to capitalize on the mid-1980s chart success of the " Minneapolis sound", which included acts such as Prince, Vanity 6, Sheila E., and the Ti ...

, and for her work with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Early life and career

Cox was born in

Kenitra Kenitra (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

with her family when she was seven years old. She learned to play several instruments, including piano, guitar, and drums. Cox attended Southeast Alternatives Free School, graduating from

Marshall-University High School Marshall-University High School was a public junior high and high school serving grades 6–12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school was founded in 1968 through a merger between John Marshall High School (a Minneapolis public school) and Univer ...

and sang in the nightclub Bootlegger Sam's in Dinkytown when she was in ninth grade. Influenced early on by R&B and rock icons of the era like

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

, she became known for her soulful, powerful vocals, and soon graduated to other bands, including Raggs in 1980, the Doug Maynard Band, the T.C. Jammers, the Peterson-Cox Band (with Patty Peterson), Rupert's Orchestra and, in 1987,

Dr. Mambo's Combo Dr. Mambo's Combo has been performing weekly at Bunkers Music Bar & Grill in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1987 — one of the longest running weekly residencies anywhere in America. Original members include Tim Emerson (Dr. Mambo), Margaret Cox, ...

(often referred to simply as "the Combo"). She has won numerous Minnesota Music Awards for her contributions to the Twin Cities music scene. She also sang on a local ''Bar Wars'' compilation LP and on the final Lipps, Inc album, 1983's ''4''.

Ta Mara and The Seen

In 1985 Cox formed a band called The Seen and was noticed by Jesse Johnson, guitarist with Minneapolis band The Time. Johnson renamed Cox "Ta Mara" and helped the band sign a deal with A&M. He also produced their first album, ''

'', and co-wrote all of the songs. The band had one major hit with " Everybody Dance" but in 1989 they broke up after releasing their next album, '' Blueberry Gossip''.

Work with Prince

Cox worked with the artist Prince, but she was not a member of

The New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as the NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

. In the early 1990s, she recorded more than 25 songs with Prince for a band to be called M.C. Flash, although the album was never released. She also covered Prince's "Standing at the Altar" for his 1994 compilation album '' 1-800-NEW-FUNK'', and the song was released as a single.

Later work

Cox co-wrote "I Need You" with Johnson, which appeared on

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

's 1988 album ''

Forever Your Girl ''Forever Your Girl'' is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1988, through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile cli ...

''. In 2003 she released her first solo album ''Margie's Little Demo''. She currently still sings with

every Sunday night at Bunker's in downtown Minneapolis.

References

External links