The Resume

(March 20, 1918-August 20, 2013)
Born in Slough, England, United Kingdom
Birth name was Margaret Marian Turner
Jazz pianist
Recorded the albums 'Jazz at Storyville' (1951), 'Mary McPartland at the Hickory House' (1955), 'After Dark' (1956), 'Interplay' (1969), 'Ambiance' (1970), 'Now's the Time' (1977), 'Plays the Benny Carter Songbook' (1990) and 'Twilight World' (2008)
Hosted 'Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz' on NPR (1978-2011)
Received a NEA Jazz Masters Award (2000) and a Grammy Trustees Award (2004)
Named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (2010)

Why she might be annoying:

Although she could play piano by ear at age three, she did not receive formal lessons until she was 16, since her parents insisted that she take violin lessons instead. ('I would practice in lackluster fashion, with one eye on the clock.')
She dropped out of the prestigious Guildhall School of Music to join a music hall act.
She had a seven-year affair with the drummer in her band while they were both married to other people.
She and cornetist Jimmy McPartland got divorced and remarried.

Why she might not be annoying:

She entertained the troops with the USO during World War II.
She was a versatile pianist, with the New York Times describing her performance as 'a thumbnail history of jazz styles... from basic ragtime to very modern harmonies, throwing in some bebop and some stride piano.'
Burt Bacharach told her, 'You really showed me how my songs can work as jazz.... And if you can make 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again' sound good, I can only imagine what you might do with 'What's New Pussycat.'
She had nearly 500 guests on 'Piano Jazz,' ranging from Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck to Steely Dan and Elvis Costello.
She was known for getting musicians to open up about their lives.
She continued recording and touring in her 90s despite worsening arthritis. ('I can't walk. I'm in miserable pain. But at the piano, I don't feel a thing.')

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Burt Bacharach Wrote My Song
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 49]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [March] (Ranked: 3201918)
• Double M Initials
• I am an Adulterer
• I am in Public Broadcasting
• I Died in 2013 (Ranked: 95)
• I Have Synesthesia
• I Married in 1991
• I Remarried the Same Person [I Do! I Don't! I Changed My Mind!]
• I Went to a Psychiatrist
• Jazz Artists
• Known By a Middle Name
• My Music was Lost in the 2008 Universal Studios Fire
• My Spouse is at Least Ten Years Older than Me
• Profiles 34501-34750 (Ranked: 34747)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20130820)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 90.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 12.50% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 119 Votes: 64.71% Annoying