Charmayne Maxena Maxwell (January 11, 1969 – February 28, 2015), professionally known as Maxee, was a

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

-born American singer and songwriter. In the mid-1990s, Maxwell came to prominence as a member of the female R&B trio

Brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...

Career

Maxwell found fame in the mid-1990s after she formed the group

with singers Monica "Mimi" Doby and

Nicci Gilbert Nicci Gilbert is an American R&B singer. She is mainly known for being the lead vocalist of an American female R&B girl-group Brownstone who rose to fame in the mid 1990s best known for their 1995 hit single " If You Love Me", which was nominat ...

. After an a cappella audition, the trio were signed to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

-distributed imprint, MJJ Music. The group released their debut album '' From the Bottom Up'' in 1995 which earned a

platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) and received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

for their top ten hit single " If You Love Me". After going through the first of a few lineup switches and the release of their commercially less successful second album '' Still Climbing'' (1997), the trio disbanded. Following the disbandment of Brownstone, Maxwell moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and signed with

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 ...

in 2000 to pursue a solo career. Her solo debut single "When I Look into Your Eyes" spawned a remix by producer Fred Jerkins III and peaked at number 55 on the UK Singles Chart. Follow-up "This Is Where I Wanna Be" failed to chart. Its commercial underperformance led to the cancellation of Maxwell's same-titled solo album.

Death

On February 28, 2015, Maxwell died after an accident in

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, ...

. She was at her home when she fell and cut her throat on a drinking glass that shattered during the fall. She died shortly afterwards in a hospital, aged 46.

Personal life

Maxwell was married to Danish record producer

Carsten Schack Carsten Schack (born 1968 in Gug, Denmark) and better known by his stage name Soulshock is a Danish record producer and songwriter. Beginnings Carsten Schack was born in the Aalborg suburb of Gug, the son of economics professor Bent Schack and p ...

from duo Soulshock and Karlin. The couple had a son, Nicholas Hojer.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

Charmayne Maxwell
At Find A Grave * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Charmayne 1969 births 2015 deaths Accidental deaths from falls African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American women pop singers American soul singers American people of Guyanese descent Guyanese emigrants to the United States 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers