Roaring Lion was born in the Caribbean with the name Hubert Raphael Charles and later changed it to Rafael de Leon. He wrote the original "Mary Ann" (Roaring Lion) in 1941.

Hamilton "Terry" Gilkyson and The Easy Riders (Richard Dehr and Frank Miller) featuring lead vocal by Rick Dehr had the most enduring version of "Marianne" peaking at number four on Billboard in 1957. Issued on Columbia the group members are listed as compsers.