The Incomparable Ms. Marlena

Talkin' (Marlena) Shaw-Biz...

Waking up on Saturday morning, January 20th in chilly London - as is often the case - I turned on my iPhone and checked social media. There have only been a few times in recent memory where seeing a post on my Facebook feed has literally made me do a double take. In the times we live in where news about a public figure’s transition has sometimes proved to be ‘fake,’ I didn’t take me more than a moment to realise that this was sadly so real.

A video from her daughter MarLa The Messenger Bradshaw announced that her mom, my dear dear friend Marlena Shaw had shed the mortal coil. I found myself so tearful at the flood of memories that filled my consciousness. Marlena was not just another of the now thousands of artists I’ve interviewed from my early years with Blues & Soul through to writing liner notes for some of the reissues of her recorded work on Soul Music Records.

So many memories….of seeing her at New York’s Bottom Line club circa 1977, 1978 and her witty-but-so-on-point comment as I was leaving her dressing room when she smiled with a naughty grin, declaring, “David Nathan, you give the longest goodbyes of anyone I know!”

Making sure I saw Marlena as often as possible during her regular trips to London to play five nights, two shows a night to a packed audience at the famous Ronnie Scott’s club, always getting a standing ovation, and on the last occasion in 2015, dropping by during soundcheck to chit-chat.

Always a professional, Marlena was soldiering on while dealing with physical challenges and when I stopped after her full-on show at Ronnie’s, she was as ever candid, sharing that she would no longer be touring, especially since her most devoted audiences were in the UK and Japan.

I treasure that in-person conversation and I honour all that she provided with her down-to-earth realness and her slice-of-life observations on ‘Shaw-Biz’ through the years. Resting as I know she is, heavenly.

As my personal tribute, I’ve put together the audio from a transatlantic call we had in 2010 for an online series we had at SoulMusic.com called ‘Voice Your Choice’ in which esteemed guests were asked to choose seven of their own favourite recordings from their catalogue. For copyright reasons, the original full versions of the songs Marlena picked have been edited out and instead, I’ve created a Spotify playlist with all seven tunes included.

© 2024, David Nathan/Blue Butterfly Entertainment Ltd. (UK), all rights reserved