Lucky you! Did you get to see Marlena perform?? I can't recall her ever being in my area. I'm imagining a kind of supper club show with lots of sassy banter??
I have a personal memory associated with her. There was a classica/jazz record store on Castro that I didn't really visit , but for some reason on this day I did. They had a bin of discounted stuff and in it was a promo 12" copy of
ITS BETTER THAN WALKING OUT [probably for 50 cents] it was an eye opener for me because as a Joe Blow on the street I suddenly realized there were special pressings being made that couldn't be bought [legally
]. From then on the hunt was on!!
I already liked the song, was intrigued that it was pressed on this foreign , to me, BLUE NOTE label and especially liked Marlena's voice. I followed her after that and was delighted when her TAKE A BITE album became a huge club record in SF a few years later.
Sort of the antithesis of I WILL SURVIVE
Wish I'd seen Miss Shaw perform. RIP Marlena Shaw
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