Marilyn Lavonne Tuttle

Marilyn Tuttle, age 99 (born in California on Sept. 3, 1925), passed away in her sleep, at her home, on January 11th, 2025. Marilyn had had a long, successful career singing jazz, Western and country music, performing first as a member of a trio with Stan Kenton's band in 1944. In 1946, she appeared as a member of a musical trio, The Tailor Maids, in Eddie Dean's Western film, Down Missouri Way. For the rest of her life, she was invited to sing wherever she went, but she usually declined, politely pointing out that she was a harmony singer, not a soloist! But her beautiful voice made a huge difference in musical presentations!

       Wesley Tuttle (Marilyn's husband) had two chart records for the Capitol label in 1946, and he invited Marilyn to join his band on tour to promote his "hits." Wesley said he stole Marilyn from the Earl Carroll Theater "and never let her loose after that!" Following their marriage in 1947, Marilyn and Wesley joined their friends Johnny Bond, Tex Ritter, Joe & Rose Lee Maphis, Merle Travis and many other legendary stars on the long-running Town Hall Party tv show. The show was broadcast "live" to a huge Southern California audience in the early days of television.  Marilyn replaced Mary Ford when Mary left Jimmy Wakely's Sunshine Girls trio to work with Les Paul, and she also appeared on a subsequent Jimmy Wakely tv show (Wesley had worked with Wakely on Gene Autry's weekly radio show and as a musician in a number of Western films starring Wakely, Tex Ritter, Charles Starrett and Russell "Lucky" Hayden).

       In 1953, RCA Victor recorded the legendary Western singer-composer Bob Nolan as a solo artist (Nolan had been one of the founders of the Sons of the Pioneers). To accompany him, Marilyn joined her friends Lou Dinning and Rose Lee Maphis to form the back-up trio for that session.

      When Wesley left show business to become a minister, Marilyn opened a Christian book store in San Fernando. Decades later, when the International Western Music Assn.(IWMA) was formed, the Tuttles were invited to attend an annual convention in Tucson. The Association's purpose was/is to preserve and promote Western music, and as pioneers of Western music, the Tuttles were welcomed and revered from the start. Wesley passed away in 2003, but Marilyn had made so many dear friends who shared her musical interests and were in awe of her talent, she continued to participate in Western music events until the end.  She was especially appreciated as a mentor of young people who were interested in harmony, and she could be found at the conventions in New Mexico and venues in California, often until late at night, helping youngsters learn the finer points of harmony singing.  She was the driving force behind the Association's harmony competition, an active member of the Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors created an award in her honor: The Marilyn Tuttle Award for Harmony. In 2007, the Association awarded Marilyn the prestigious Pioneer Trails Award for her major contributions to the Western music genre and to the Association. She is survived by her children, Wesley, Jr and Matthew. She also had 3 daughters of the heart as well as 8 grandchildren 15 great-grandchildren and 6 great great grand children. and leaves behind a loving extended family and many, many loving friends.