School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Marlena Shaw

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Marlena Shaw, born Marlina Burgess, was an American singer, born in 1939 in New Rochelle in the state of New York. Her uncle Jimmy Burgess, a jazz trumpeter, introduced her to good music: records by Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, a lot of gospel and Al Hibbler, who knew how to phrase a song. In 1952 he took her to the Apollo Theater in Harlem to sing with his band. She began studying music at the teachers' college in Potsdam, but did not finish.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1960s she sang in jazz clubs and in 1963 worked with the trumpeter Howard McGhee. She auditioned for John Hammond of Columbia, but was too nervous. Her breakthrough came in 1966 with a performance at the Playboy Club in Chicago, where she met people from Chess Records. Her first two albums appeared on the subsidiary label Cadet, including Out of Different Bags from 1968 and The Spice of Life from 1969. The song California Soul, written by Ashford and Simpson, later became a staple of the British rare groove scene and was heard in commercials. In 1972 she moved to the jazz label Blue Note. There Who Is This Bitch, Anyway? appeared in 1975. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop.

Influence

Shaw sang jazz, soul and funk with a powerful, playful voice and kept performing until her death in 2024.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to California Soul by Marlena Shaw and notice the tight rhythm section, the brass and the way her voice moves between soul and jazz. Can you hear why this song was later sampled so often?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists