Marjorie Finlay

Marjorie Finlay (née Moehlenkamp; October 5, 1928 – June 1, 2003) was an American opera singer and television personality. A coloratura soprano, Finlay performed concert and opera singing. After winning a talent contest in 1950, she toured on the ABC radio network show Music With the Girls. Finlay later had her own television program and served as an MC for El Show Pan-Americano in Puerto Rico. She toured South America and released an album in Mexico. She is the maternal grandmother of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who dedicated her song "Marjorie" to her. Her vocals are also featured in the background of the song.

Early life Marjorie Moehlenkamp was born on October 5, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Elmer Henry Moehlenkamp (1897–1972) of St. Charles, Missouri, and Cora Lee Morrow (1900–1962) of Arkansas. The Moehlenkamp family were practicing and devout Catholics.

In 1948, Finlay performed at Mexico Senior High School as a soloist in the Lindenwood Vesper Choir. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Lindenwood University in 1949. Finlay was in Mu Phi Epsilon, a professional music fraternity.

Career

Finlay was a singer in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's pop concert at Kiel Auditorium. She was also a singer at the San Juan supper club. In 1950, Finlay was working as a receptionist at Boatmen's National Bank in St. Louis. She won a talent contest on the ABC network show Music With the Girls. This awarded her a radio spot and she toured on the network radio show for 15 months.

Finlay was the mistress of ceremonies for El Show Pan-Americano on APA-TV in Santurce, Puerto Rico.

Personal life She married Robert Finlay, president of Raymond Construction Company, on March 22, 1952, in Palm Beach, Florida. After her marriage, Finlay and her husband moved to Havana, Cuba, where his office was located before relocating to Puerto Rico due to political unrest. They moved to Caracas before returning to Santurce, Puerto Rico, with their children. Finlay gave birth to Alison Finlay in 1957, and then to Andrea Gardner Finlay in 1958, who later became the mother of Taylor Swift. American novelist William Faulkner is also Finlay's third cousin.

In the 1960s, the Finlay family moved to Singapore for Robert's work and lived there for a few years. In November 1968, Marjorie performed for five nights as the soprano lead in the opera The Bartered Bride (by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana) at the Victoria Theatre in Singapore.

Robert died on April 24, 2003 aged 82.

Death and legacy Finlay died from undisclosed causes on June 1, 2003, in Reading, Pennsylvania, at the age of 74.

When Swift re-recorded her third studio album, Speak Now, she released a vault track (a song not published on the original album) called "Timeless". The lyric video included various photos of Finlay and her husband, along with photos of Swift's paternal grandparents, Rose and Archie Dean Swift.

Swift sang a shortened version of "Marjorie" during The Eras Tour. Fans made it a tradition to turn their phones' flashlights on, or hold up photographs of Finlay, while Swift sang the song.

Awards and honors