When Marlena Shaw first moved to Las Vegas in the early 1970s, she was in the midst of a versatile career as a pop, soul, and jazz singer.
Over the years, she’s performed alongside such musical greats as Ray Brown, Stanley Turrentine, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsay Lewis, and Count Basie.
Marlena Shaw has said she’s been “blessed” to have performed with those people. Perhaps they would also say they’ve been blessed to perform with her.
Mayor Goodman has declared this Sunday “Marlena Shaw Day” – and t he Las Vegas Jazz Society has put together a special musical celebration at Ron DeCar’s Event Center.
Interview Highlights
On her first solo performance at the Apollo Theater in New York City at age 9:
"I remember my grandmother borrowing a dress from somebody that she was working for. She worked in service. There I was on the Apollo Theater stage with a borrowed dress, my first pair of little heels, ugly colored stockings."
"I remember them laughing when I came on stage with my borrowed dress. I felt like there were signs all over me that said, 'This is this' and 'I hate this.' They did not boo necessarily but it was like 'oh please' type of feeling but I started singing and things changed."
On transitioning from a child performer to an adult performer:
"That was the end of my career as far as my grandmother was concerned. So, I went to school and I got married and I had children. And when the noise level reached a certain peak I said 'I think I'll be back in show business."
On using monologs:
"I think I my style kind of comes from the classroom clown. If people start laughing at you, you just keep on going. I don't know where that came from. How I worked it out, but maybe coming from the Playboy Club with everybody looking at certain parts of the anatomy of the girls. I would say things like, 'Oh my living bra died!'"
On balancing family and performing:
"Sometimes I was better at one than the other. I don't think there is any such thing as total balance. We know what we're supposed to do that don't mean we're going to do it"
"I do remember having to go to the job late because one of the twins was screaming. I mean window open screaming: 'I'm going to die if you go!' type of thing. I had to take all the luggage out and pacify her."
On being popular in Europe but staying in U.S.:
"If you have children, you have to think. You're coming home with $1,500 and you're just making it. What happens if you go some place else. Your first thought generally is for your children."
Marlena Shaw, Singer
