ArtistInfo

Marvin Gunn

voc, key,
Singer / Musician of R&B/Soul and Electronic
A.k.a. Marvin Gun Marr Starr OneGunn

Keyboardist, singer, actor, born in Milwaukee who was raised by an educator and musician. He began performing professionally at 12 years old, and by his late teens he was performing throughout the Milwaukee area. The struggle between music and attending college became quite a challenge. College won briefly, but within two years, Marvin faced a turning point. After a concert in Chicago on a late summer evening in June, he and band mate Bruce DeShazer (aka Tony Christian) met Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of The Time. Terry expressed an interest in working with Marvin and Bruce and suggested the pair meet with The Time in Minneapolis. Minneapolis became home in less than a month. In Minneapolis, Marvin and Bruce caught wind that Brown Mark, bassist of Prince and The Revolution, was creating a band called Mazarati with strong support from Prince. Marvin and Bruce were invited to join the band, and their careers launched. After several years of performing throughout the United States, Mazarati was signed to Paisley Park/Warner Bros. Records and released their first album, Mazarati, co-produced by Brown Mark, Prince and David Rivkin. From this album came the band’s first single, 100 MPH, which rose to #19 on the R&B charts. Mazarati began touring or recording with musicians and groups including Prince, Sheila E, New Edition, Alexander O’Neal, Tamara and The Seen, Jermaine Jackson, Stacey Earl, Jesse Johnson and more. Marvin was also the original lead vocalist for the 1986 Prince hit single Kiss from the album Parade, on a previously-recorded and short acoustic demo, about a minute in length, with one verse and the chorus. Several years later, Marvin and Bruce – now "The Wild Pair" – met Tamara And The Seen's guitarist Oliver Leiber. When Oliver got the call to work with Paula Abdul on her first CD, he shared the opportunity with Marvin and Bruce. Marvin is the co-lead vocal behind the duet "Opposites Attract." The duo also provided background vocals for Paula’s singles "It’s Just The Way That You Love Me" and "Forever Your Girl" from her "Forever Your Girl" album. Other contributions included "Crazy Love" and "Under The Influence" from Paula Abdul's "Head Over Heels" album. Now writing music, producing and acting from Phoenix to Los Angeles, Marvin also continues to perform live and work on studio recordings.

Instruments

• Vocals
• Keyboards

Genres

• R&B/Soul
• Electronic
• Rock
• Hip-Hop/Rap
• Pop

Plays With

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Acknowledgements

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