Shaw's first musical influences were her uncle and grandmother, who loved to sing and play gospel music on the family’s hi-fi record player. As a young girl, Shaw was also involved with numerous gospel singing groups. Her first experience singing before a large audience was with her uncle, who played trumpet and exposed her to the music of jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie. At only 10 years old, Shaw performed with her uncle at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and they were asked to return for the next week's show. As she recalls, her uncle got booked elsewhere on the same night, and a young Shaw had to take the stage solo at the Apollo for the second show.
Shaw's professional aspirations were rejuvenated after she was married and living on an Air Force base near Springfield, Massachusetts. Encouraged by friends, she auditioned and got gigs near the base, then made a demo tape in the garage of Charlie Parent, a local drummer. The tape eventually landed her a regular gig at the Concord, a resort hotel in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.
Shaw's big break was an invitation to sing with the Count Basie Orchestra. Basie’s accountant heard her at the New York Playboy club. Basie was sent a copy of one of her records, while Shaw met with Basie alumnus and trumpeter Frank Foster to arrange charts of some of her numbers. The next thing she knew, she was flown out to meet the whole band at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.
She met with representatives of the Chess Records music label, and soon signed with them. She released her first two albums on their subsidiary Cadet Records. A 1969 album track "California Soul", a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson and originally issued as a single by American pop quintet The 5th Dimension, later became a staple of the UK rare groove scene. This song has appeared in television commercials for Dockers, KFC[3] and Dodge Ram trucks. Unable to find her own style at Chess, she moved to the jazz-oriented Blue Note Records in 1972.
In 1977 she released an LP Sweet Beginnings on Columbia that contained: "Yu Ma / Go Away Little Boy", a medley containing the old Goffin and Carole King standard, originally recorded by Nancy Wilson. The album also contained the track Look at Me, Look at You, popular on the U.K. rare groove scene. She sings the theme song "Don't Ask to Stay Until Tomorrow" from the 1977 film Looking for Mr. Goodbar that's also found on its soundtrack. She also recorded one of the disco era's biggest hits, a remake of "Touch Me in the Morning", also on Columbia Records.
In 1982 Shaw recorded the Gary Taylor ballad called "Without You in My Life" from the LP Let Me in Your Life that was jointly produced by Johnny Bristol and Webster Lewis on South Bay records. This had moderate chart success in the USA. In 1983 she recorded the vocals for "Could It Be You", a track by Phil Upchurch on his Name of the Game album.
Shaw continued to perform and record. In 1999, 2001 and again in 2007, Shaw was one of the performers at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.
Unforgettable
Marlena Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's what you are
Unforgettable
Tho' near or far
Like a song of love that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me
Never before has someone been more
Unforgettable in every way
That's why darling it's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too
The lyrics of Marlena Shaw's song "Unforgettable" describe the overwhelming emotions of a person in love. The lyrics say that the person's love is unforgettable, no matter how far away they are. The song compares the feeling of being in love to a song of love that clings to the person, and how the thought of the person they love does things to them. The lyrics also express the idea of being completely consumed by the thought of the person they love, and how no one has ever been more unforgettable in every way.
In the final verse, the lyrics express the incredible feeling that someone so unforgettable also thinks that the person singing the song is unforgettable. This emphasizes the reciprocal nature of love and how it can make both people feel that they are the most special and unforgettable person in each other's lives.
Overall, the lyrics of "Unforgettable" capture the powerful emotions of love and how it can make someone feel like they have found someone truly unforgettable, who they will always cherish and remember.
Line by Line Meaning
Unforgettable
You are an unforgettable person who has left a lasting impact on my life.
That's what you are
You are unique and unforgettable, like no one else in the world.
Tho' near or far
Even when you're not physically with me, your memory and the impact you had on me remains.
Like a song of love that clings to me
Your memory is like a love song that stays with me and influences my emotions.
How the thought of you does things to me
The thought of you brings about a range of emotions and feelings within me.
Never before has someone been more
In my life, I have never met someone who has had such a profound and unforgettable impact on me.
Unforgettable in every way
Every aspect of you and our experiences together is unforgettable.
And forever more, that's how you'll stay
Your unforgettable presence will remain with me forever.
That's why darling it's incredible
It's amazing and surprising to me that someone as unforgettable as you thinks of me as unforgettable too.
That someone so unforgettable
You, an unforgettable person,
Thinks that I am unforgettable too
Believes that I have also made an unforgettable impact on your life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Irving Gordon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind