Marlena Shaw, the legendary jazz singer known for her songs “California Soul” and “Woman of the Ghetto,” has died. Shaw’s daughter, Marla Bradshaw, announced her mother’s passing in a video posted to the singer’s Facebook page on Friday, sharing “with a very heavy hear…our beloved mother, your beloved icon and artist Marlena Shaw has passed away today.” Shaw was 84, according to her daughter.
Bradshaw did not disclose the singer’s cause of death, saying that she was not going to share “too many details” about her mother’s passing, adding, “When it’s needing to be known, it will be.”She did, however, share that Shaw “went very peacefully… She went listening to some of her favorite songs.” She added, “We were at peace… I just want to thank you all for being on her page. Thank you for being a part of her life. Especially these last three years, which made her very happy.”
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Born in in New Rochelle, New York in 1939, Shaw began her career in the 1960s after she was noticed by the Chess Records label, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Under the label’s subsidiary Cadet Records, she released several albums, including Out of Different Bags (1967) and The Spice of Life (1969), which featured her version of Ashford & Simpson’s “California Soul” and “Woman of the Ghetto.” She went on to sign with Universal Music Group’s Blue Note in 1972, making history as their first female vocalist. While with Blue Note, she released a total of five albums– including Marlena, From the Depths of My Soul,and Just a Matter of Time– and several singles, according to their biography of her, which said Shaw “dazzled audiences with her intoxicating blend of straight-ahead jazz, soul, pop, and classic R&B.” In total, Shaw toured for more than 50 years and put out 17 albums across eight different labels.
“We are saddened by the passing of Marlena Shaw, a wonderful singer whose ‘California Soul’ is as popular today as it ever was and whose album It Is Love: Recorded Live at Vine St. helped relaunch the Verve label in 1987,” Verve Records, who worked with Shaw in 1987, shared in a statement.
In the Facebook video announcing her mother’s passing, Bradshaw said, “thank you in advance for your prayers and comfort for our family,” sharing a P.O. Box address where fans can send their condolences. She concluded, “thank you all for being on her [Facebook] page, thank you for being a part of her life. Especially these last three years, which made her really happy.”
