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Mariah Carey Biography

 

Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970, in Long Island, New York. Her name, Mariah, comes from a Native American language and means "the wind." She was named from the song "They Called The Wind Mariah" from the musical "Paint Your Wagon." She was the third and the last child in the family. Mariah's mother was a white Irish opera singer from Indiana and her father, Roy Carey, was a black Venezuelan aeronautical engineer.

At the age of 2 Mariah first time showed her talent. When Patricia was rehearsing Verdi's Rigoletto, she missed a cue, and Mariah sang it perfectly from the right spot. Patricia was aware of Mariah's gift and started giving her singing lessons when she was 4 years old. Mariah was able to duplicate every sound she heard.

Mariah's father and Patricia divorced, when she was 3 years old. Their marriage was facing racial intolerance from people around them. This probably had some influence on their relationship. Also Mariah's older sister Alison and brother Morgan suffered. Alison had darkest skin, so she was always the target of racial prejudice, and Morgan had an epilepsy.

Mariah and Morgan stayed with their mother after the divorce, but Alison lived with her father. Mariah and her mother frequently moved around Long Island and New York. They didn't have a lot of money, so they couldn't afford a house. They sometimes even stayed with their friends. For Mariah this was a scary growing up. She never felt stable. She was always afraid "that somebody would pull the rug out under her." Some neighbors didn't allow their children to play with her because she was a "bad influence." This made Mariah very insecure as a child...

The only thing that kept up her hopes was her music. This was the only thing that made her secure. She had always wanted to become a professional singer. Mariah was as a child influenced by many musicians: Sarah Vaugham, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight. Her favorite song was "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Aretha Franklin. She used to listen to the radio to fall a sleep. When Mariah watched commercials on television, she always sang along.

Mariah wasn't a perfect child. When her mother would ask her to clean up the room, she would say that someday other people will be cleaning her stuff. Even school wasn't too important to her. She was smart but she showed her interest only in things she liked. She was interested in creative writing. When she was in high school she was often late for classes, because she used to hang up in studios late into the night, so the teachers gave her a nickname Mirage.

After finishing the high school, college wasn't on her mind. All she ever wanted was to be a singer and her music meant everything to her. She didn't allow anybody or anything to interfere with her plan. She started writing lyrics. At that time she wrote "Someday" and "Love Takes Time."

At the time of the graduation she was introduced to Ben Margulies, who had some kind of recording studio. With his help she wrote many of her early songs. During that timeMariah left her mother and went to New York City to start on her own. She worked as a waitress, a coat-checker and she even worked one day in a beauty salon (She quit the job because employees had to wear stupid nicknames).

At night she was working in studio with Ben. Mariah recorded her first demo tape, but she didn't have anywhere to go with it. That was a very rough time for her. She even had some contract offers for her lyrics, but she didn't allow that somebody else would be singing her songs.

Later 18 year-old Mariah became a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr. At first she didn't want to go to the audition, but Brenda's drummer, who was also Mariah's friend, convinced her. She went on the audition and Brenda took her as a backup singer. They became real close friends. Mariah worked as a backup singer for almost a year.

In 1988 Brenda K. Starr introduced Mariah to some people of the CBS Records. Mariah was very unsecured but she was persuaded to give a demo tape to Jerry Greenberg, chief of WTG Records. This demo somehow came into the hands of Tommy Mottola, president of Columbia Records. When he heard the demo, he was fascinated by Mariah's voice. The songs on the demo were "All Alone In Love", "Prisoner", "Someday", "All In Your Mind", "Do You Ever Wonder". When he tried to contact Mariah, nobody knew who she was, because she and Brenda already left. Tommy spent few days searching for her. When he finally found her, he asked Mariah to sign the contract with Columbia Records. This was a big start for not even nineteen years old Mariah.

 
The only thing that kept up her hopes was her music. This was the only thing that made her secure. She had always wanted to become a professional singer. Mariah was as a child influenced by many musicians: Sarah Vaugham, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight. Her favorite song was "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Aretha Franklin. She used to listen to the radio to fall a sleep. When Mariah watched commercials on television, she always sang along.

Mariah wasn't a perfect child. When her mother would ask her to clean up the room, she would say that someday other people will be cleaning her stuff. Even school wasn't too important to her. She was smart but she showed her interest only in things she liked. She was interested in creative writing. When she was in high school she was often late for classes, because she used to hang up in studios late into the night, so the teachers gave her a nickname Mirage.

After finishing the high school, college wasn't on her mind. All she ever wanted was to be a singer and her music meant everything to her. She didn't allow anybody or anything to interfere with her plan. She started writing lyrics. At that time she wrote "Someday" and "Love Takes Time."

At the time of the graduation she was introduced to Ben Margulies, who had some kind of recording studio. With his help she wrote many of her early songs. During that timeMariah left her mother and went to New York City to start on her own. She worked as a waitress, a coat-checker and she even worked one day in a beauty salon (She quit the job because employees had to wear stupid nicknames).

At night she was working in studio with Ben. Mariah recorded her first demo tape, but she didn't have anywhere to go with it. That was a very rough time for her. She even had some contract offers for her lyrics, but she didn't allow that somebody else would be singing her songs.

Later 18 year-old Mariah became a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr. At first she didn't want to go to the audition, but Brenda's drummer, who was also Mariah's friend, convinced her. She went on the audition and Brenda took her as a backup singer. They became real close friends. Mariah worked as a backup singer for almost a year.

In 1988 Brenda K. Starr introduced Mariah to some people of the CBS Records. Mariah was very unsecured but she was persuaded to give a demo tape to Jerry Greenberg, chief of WTG Records. This demo somehow came into the hands of Tommy Mottola, president of Columbia Records. When he heard the demo, he was fascinated by Mariah's voice. The songs on the demo were "All Alone In Love", "Prisoner", "Someday", "All In Your Mind", "Do You Ever Wonder". When he tried to contact Mariah, nobody knew who she was, because she and Brenda already left. Tommy spent few days searching for her. When he finally found her, he asked Mariah to sign the contract with Columbia Records. This was a big start for not even nineteen years old Mariah.


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