Columbus Jazz Titan:โข Mary McClendon Still Sings Strong in Her 80s
Columbus, OH โข – For Mary McClendon, a lifelong โฃlove ofโฃ music wasn’t cultivated in a studio, but blossomed at home andโ in the classrooms ofโ a bygone era. Now in her 80s,the remarkablyโค self-taught vocalist continues to graceโข stages across the Columbus area,captivating audiences with a lifetime of passion and a uniquely expressive style.Born in Portsmouth, โฃOhio, McClendon’s earliest musical influencesโค came from โคher mother, a woman with a soaring soprano voice who filled their home with hymns and spirituals. “My mother was โjust one of thoseโ people who โฃsang all the time,” McClendon recalls. This constant exposure, coupled with the rich musical landscape of televised musicals like Porgy and Bess, provided all the training she โneeded.
“I โขnever had a vocal teacher,” she explains. “But of course, I’m from an era where weโฃ had music โฃand art every school โday, from elementary through high school.” โThat โfoundational education โคprovedโ invaluable, nurturing a talentโค that would lie dormant for years while she focused on family and a career at Motorists โMutual Insurance Co., โขwhereโข she sang in the company choir.
Opportunities toโค perform publicly eventually arose. McCl