Not many people will remember the name Joan Shaw, a great singer who never really got her due in the early days of her career. Born in 1930 in Newport News, Virginia, home town of Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey, she began singing in amateur programs when she was 13. In December 1947 she made her recording debut as a featured jazz vocalist, singing Rain in My Eyes with the Buddy Tate Orchestra. From 1949 on she toured and recorded with different groups during the R & B era and the rise of rock n roll. In 1956 she tried the pop route, recording with strings and commercial arrangements, but it didn t work.

A better future loomed when eminent jazz critic Leonard Feather hailed her as one of the most promising singers in the United States, and in 1961, surrounded by fine jazzmen, she recorded her first album Sings for Swingers, for Epic Records. She played some of the best clubs on the contemporary circuit, recording Joan Shaw in Person, a live album with the Herman Foster trio. Despite good reviews, however, it proved to be a false dawn. In 1965, faced with diminishing success and racism in the USA, she moved to Europe, reinvented herself as Salena Jones and finally went on to enjoy the long, successful career she deserved. This compilation presents a retrospective of her first recordings as Joan Shaw.

[3:01] 01. Joan Shaw - Rain In My Eyes
[2:42] 02. Joan Shaw - He Knows How To Hucklebuck
[2:40] 03. Joan Shaw - Pretty Eyed Baby
[2:57] 04. Joan Shaw - Lonesome For My Baby
[2:28] 05. Joan Shaw - Rock My Soul
[2:34] 06. Joan Shaw - I Love The Way You Love Me
[2:41] 07. Joan Shaw - Evil Gal's Daughter Blues
[2:50] 08. Joan Shaw - You Drive Me Crazy
[2:56] 09. Joan Shaw - Why Don't You Leave My Heart Alone
[2:08] 10. Joan Shaw - Baby Come On
[3:05] 11. Joan Shaw - Oh How I Hate To Say Goodbye
[2:19] 12. Joan Shaw - You Make Me Cry Myself To Sleep (Every Night)
[2:25] 13. Joan Shaw - Do What You Want With Me
[2:46] 14. Joan Shaw - Fly Away Heartaches
[2:56] 15. Joan Shaw - I Want A Man For Christmas
[2:19] 16. Joan Shaw - Ten Commandments Of Love
[2:52] 17. Joan Shaw - I Should Not Be Alone So Long
[2:16] 18. Joan Shaw - Hand-Holdin' Baby
[2:44] 19. Joan Shaw - Broken Heart
[2:07] 20. Joan Shaw - Just Kiss Me
[2:35] 21. Joan Shaw - Don't You Remember?
[2:17] 22. Joan Shaw - The Time
[2:06] 23. Joan Shaw - I Don't Wanna Cry (Over You Anymore)
[1:59] 24. Joan Shaw - Blue
[2:12] 25. Joan Shaw - Unsuspecting Heart
[2:42] 26. Joan Shaw - That's What I Get For Loving You
[2:31] 27. Joan Shaw - You Made Me Love You
[2:33] 28. Joan Shaw - Gotta Be This Or That
[3:12] 29. Joan Shaw - Let Me Love You
[2:10] 30. Joan Shaw - Mississippi Mud
[2:59] 31. Joan Shaw - I'm Making Believe
[2:20] 32. Joan Shaw - Lover
[3:06] 33. Joan Shaw - I'm Beginning To See The Light
[2:26] 34. Joan Shaw - Just Squeeze Me
[2:48] 35. Joan Shaw - I Hadn't Anyone Till You
[2:38] 36. Joan Shaw - Then I'll Be Happy
[2:49] 37. Joan Shaw - Looking At You
[2:12] 38. Joan Shaw - Aren't You Glad You're You
[2:09] 39. Joan Shaw - Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries
[2:22] 40. Joan Shaw - Through A Long And Sleepless Night
[5:11] 41. Joan Shaw - This Is All I Ask
[2:42] 42. Joan Shaw - Lover (Alt)
[4:43] 43. Joan Shaw - Fly Me To The Moon
[2:20] 44. Joan Shaw - Make Someone Happy
[1:56] 45. Joan Shaw - I'll Walk A Little Faster
[4:35] 46. Joan Shaw - Where Did 20 Go
[4:27] 47. Joan Shaw - My Mood Is You
[3:13] 48. Joan Shaw - Sittin' Alone And Counting My Tears
[2:24] 49. Joan Shaw - Moon River
[4:58] 50. Joan Shaw - I Believe In You