Colleen Raye is an accomplished singer, actress and entertainer. A native of Wisconsin, Colleen began her career at the young age of 15 and has been enchanting audiences ever since. Her rich, sultry, alto voice and charismatic personality combine to make each performance a complete experience of world class vocals and entertainment. Whether singing with Big Band Jazz, intimate vocals and piano, or full-out show tunes, Colleen has a talent that makes all of them shine. Coupled with a touch of her off beat humor, you never know quite what to expect from this engaging artist.
Colleen began singing at age 15 with her brother’s band “The Tradewinds,then in college with The Lovell Ives Big Band and The Peter Polzak Jazz Trio as well as a classical soloist in choral works and operettas at UW River Falls.
After winning the Horace Heidt Jr Talent Contest at age 19, Colleen toured in the musical show group, “Steve Grimm and Colleen Raye”. Colleen and Steve married and traveled across the country performing in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and all across the country in various venues from fairs and festivals to casinos and performing arts centers. They had 4 children, all of them currently in show business.
Colleen began her solo career 20 years ago and has since starred in and produced several shows including “The Girl Singers of the Hit Parade”, “A Musical Tribute to Patsy Cline”, “Girl Singers Sirens of the 60s”, and “The Girl Singer Christmas Show,” “Belting Babes of Broadway,”as well as “An Evening At The Cabaret,” “Sinatra and Company – Music From The Rat Pack Era,” and “That Holiday Feeling.”