Marlene (1933-2018) was the stage name of the 21-year-old big band singer who, in 1955, married trombonist, composer and arranger Billy Ver Planck. Coincidentally, it was also the year of her first recording session for the Savoy label. The title song of her debut album was 'I Think of You with Every Breath I Take,' and it was proudly described by the label as “A new listening thrill!” Marlene was of the kind of singer who rejected pop material and familiar standards to concentrate on little heard and nearly forgotten songs of quality.

Accompanied by an all-star jazz group, she demonstrated a clear, in-tune voice, good feeling for the lyrics, and a certain freshness of sound—not to mention a musician’s sense of phrasing. Still, as the demand for jazz vocalists declined in the 1960s, Marlene slowly moved away from the scene and, for years, devoted herself mainly to singing in thousands of commercial jingles. After succeeding in that field for over a decade, she decided to return to her jazz roots under the direction of husband Billy, acting and recording this time as Marlene Ver Plank, and establishing herself as a performer in her own right.

—Jordi Pujol (From the liner notes of FSRV 116)