OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With The Marvelous Marlena Shaw!

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Greetings, music sloots, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with music to keep you warm - even scorching - especially for those if you in bone-chilling, snow-laden lands hither and thon. Did you know? At the Manor, every climate is represented. Just turn a corner on our grounds and it's Fall, then Summer, and so forth. We've got that Narnia-type shit going on (sans closets).

But I digress. Tonight, at "Sweating Like A Skerd Gerbil" bar and gourmand nuttery, DJ Li'l Scratch is bringing us a songstress who's smooth with a refreshing spike of 'tude, which is really the best way to describe Marlena Shaw, an unheralded diva who conquered jazz, soul, R&B, disco, gospel and blues, and all with equal aplomb.


In other words, she's surfed with the times, from The Apollo Theatre as a ten-year-old phenom, to the present day, where she performed at a major jazz festival in the Netherlands. Some divas never stop. Until they have to. Sadly, she died at age 84 in 2024. But her legacy continues to thrill. Born in the late 1930s, Marlena capitalized on her debut as a wee one, soon after performing with jazz trumpeter Howard McGhee throughout clubs on the East Coast, at The Newport Jazz Festival and The Playboy Club in Chicago. Then she toured extensively with Count Basie and Sammy Davis Jr. It was after the tour with Sammy that she was signed with Blue Note Records, becoming the first female artist to be added to the label's roster. 


Though she was known as a performer with a sophisticated vocal style - effortlessly synthesizing jazz, R&B, soul and pop - her breakthrough came in 1969 with her irresistible funk-soul classic, "California Soul." 

Trust me, resistance is futile: 


Another smash was "Woman Of The Ghetto," which was especially beloved by the UK'S Northern Soul scene in the 1960s and 70s. It's since been heavily sampled by countless hip-hop artists, including Fat Joe. 


She continued to perform throughout the 1960s and early 70s, then - hold on! - she scored a dance hit with a floor-jamming disco version of "Touch Me In The Morning." I'm not kidding. Perfect for blasting while shaking your booty: 


Traveling from soul to funk to blues to disco to gospel, she finally became an international nightclub chanteuse, where she cultivated a sultry persona that bewitched audiences everywhere. No matter that she didn't hit huge mass-market heights, she conquered every known musical genre. So go on, get a full taste of Marlena RIGHT HERE. You'll be glad you did.

What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾

Photo Credits: Getty Images

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