Maureen Gray started her recording career after walking into Johnny Madara and Dave White’s Gold Record retail record shop in West Philadelphia and declaring, “I can sing.” In-house producers for Jamie Records and its affiliates, Madara and White recorded Maureen for both Landa and Guyden Records starting when she was only 12. Her first release, on Landa, was “People Are Talking” b/w “Remember Me,” (Landa 685) which came out on February 1, 1962. Her biggest hit was “Dancin’ the Strand” b/w “Oh My,” (Landa 689), released on April 3, 1962. Performances included Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and shows like the James Brown Review, and performing in traveling shows along with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Gene Pitney and the Isley Brothers.
Capitalizing on her success, the next Landa release was a combination of the previous B sides, “Oh My” b/w “People are Talking” (Landa 692) on July 24, 1962. Maureen switched to Guyden Records for her final release of this period, “Slop Time” b/w “Remember Me” (Guyden 2072) on October 5, 1962. By age 14, she was burned out and determined to be a teenager herself, rather than a performer staring at the teens dancing to her music. Her break lasted until she was 17, when she met Eric Burden of the Animals, who encouraged her to start over and write her own songs.
She did, and by 18, was writing her own songs and launching an international career with many phases, many countries, including England and Holland, where she was part of the group Sail and back in England got to be known as Girl in Girl Talk. She did commercials, background singing and touring with many of the artists of the international pop set, then eventually moved back to Philadelphia where it all had begun.
