Mariah Carey Wiki
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I got my record deal like a year-and-a-half out of high school. It seemed like I condensed so much hard work into that time. I did not goof off. I would wake up in the afternoon, go to work, waitress until one in the morning, work in the studio putting together a demo tape until seven or eight in the morning, come home, get a few hours' sleep, wake up and do it again. I was really determined, and that's a major key factor. You have to be determined and you have to have a certain amount of talent. Some people make it on sheer determination and luck. And I prayed every day.

– Mariah in an interview with Young & Modern (US) April 1992.[1]

Mariah Carey's demo tape, created in the late 1980s, played a pivotal role in launching her music career. Collaborating with songwriter Ben Margulies, Carey co-wrote and recorded several tracks over a three-year period.

Background[]

After graduating from high school in 1987, Mariah Carey moved to Manhattan to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. To support herself, she worked various jobs, including waitressing. During this time, she began collaborating with Ben Margulies.[2] Together, the pair wrote and recorded multiple songs.

In December 1988, Carey attended a music executive's party with singer Brenda K. Starr. During the event, Carey handed her demo tape to Jerry Greenberg, who headed the WTG custom label at the time.[3] However, before Greenberg could take it, Tommy Mottola, the head of Columbia Records and newly appointed president of CBS Records, took the tape.[4][5] After leaving the party, Mottola listened to the tape in his car. Impressed by what he heard, he immediately returned to the party to find Carey, but she had already left.[6] Adding to the challenge, the cassette did not have Carey's name on it, only Starr's. Mottola eventually was able to track Carey down by phone. [7]

Recalling the moment, Carey said, "He left the message on my machine: ‘This is Tommy Mottola, CBS Records, call me back… Bye.’ It was shockingly abrupt after waiting so long to hear a call like that." Following their connection, Mottola signed Carey to Columbia Records, and she spent the next two years recording her debut album.

Track listing[]

Note: the track list below is unconfirmed

Demo Tape
No.TitleLength
1."Hypnotized" 
2."Here We Go Round Again" 
3."All Alone in Love" 
4."Baby" 
5."Unspoken Emotion" 
6."Vanishing" 
7."Vision of Love" 
8."Surrender To Me" 
9."Do You Ever Wonder?" 
10."Echoes Of Love" 
11."Into The Light" 
12."Someday" 

The following are songs confirmed to be Mariah's demo tape

  • Vanishing
  • Vision of Love
  • Someday
  • Here We Around Again
  • Alone in Love

References[]

  1. The Mariah Network: Pop Princess
  2. Sound Sonic - Mariah Carey (1990)
  3. LA Times - CBS Launches West Coast Record Label (September 28, 1998)
  4. Encyclopedia: Tommy Mottola
  5. KenTake Page - Mariah Carey
  6. Washington Post - A Real Life Fantasy (1995)
  7. The Mariah Network - A Real Life Fantasy
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