James Timothy Shaw (August 9, 1939 – January 30, 2014), known as The Mighty Hannibal, was an American R&B,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
,
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
, and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
. Known for his showmanship, and outlandish costumes often incorporating a pink
turban
A turban (from Persian دولبند, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promin ...
, several of his songs carried social or political themes. His biggest hit was "Hymn No. 5," a commentary on the effects of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
on servicemen, which was banned on
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
.
Biography
James Timothy Shaw was born in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, to Corrie Belle and James Henry Shaw. He was raised in the Vine City neighborhood of Atlanta. He started singing doo-wop as a teenager, and in 1954 he joined his first group, The Overalls. The outfit contained Shaw and Robert Butts plus Edward Patten and
Merald "Bubba" Knight
Merald Woodlow "Bubba" Knight, Jr. (born September 4, 1942) is an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. The older brother of lead singer Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight served as the unofficial leader of the ...
. The latter two later tasted success as part of
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...
's backing group, The Pips. From that time, Shaw credited
Grover Mitchell
Grover Mitchell, born Grover Curry Mitchell (March 17, 1930 – August 6, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist who led the Count Basie Orchestra.
Biography
Mitchell was born in Whately, Alabama, but he moved with his parents to Pittsburgh, Pen ...
as his singing voice mentor. In 1958 Shaw moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
where, under the name of Jimmy Shaw, he recorded his debut solo
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, "Big Chief Hug-Um An' Kiss-Um," a
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
issued on the Concept
label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...
. This was followed by further releases including "The Biggest Cry," and "I Need a Woman ('Cause I'm a Man)."
Subsequently working as a singer with Johnny Otis, Shaw went on to sing in another group featuring H. B. Barnum and
Jimmy Norman
Jimmy Norman (August 12, 1937 – November 8, 2011) was an American rhythm and blues and jazz musician and a songwriter. In his early career, Norman had a charting single of his own, "I Don't Love You No More (I Don't Care About You)", as ...
Larry Williams
Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...
, before in 1959, and at the suggestion of
Aki Aleong
Assing "Aki" Aleong (born December 19, 1934) is a Trinidad and Tobago–born American character actor and singer who has also been active in songwriting and musical production. His first important role was in the 1957 movie '' No Down Paymen ...
, adopting the name 'Hannibal'. He then released a small number of singles on the Pan World label. In 1962 he joined King Records, who released four further singles, the biggest seller being "Baby, Please Change Your Mind". Between 1962 and 1965 Hannibal also worked as a pimp in Los Angeles, a lifestyle that saw him dropped by King.
He returned to Atlanta, and was recruited as the frontman by Dennis St. John and the Cardinals, who supported
Tommy Roe
Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942) is a retired American rock and pop singer-songwriter.
Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late ...
at one gig. They ultimately backed Hannibal on most of his subsequent recordings with the Shurfine label, and played live engagements with Hannibal around Atlanta. Hannibal's first release with Shurfine was "Jerkin' the Dog," (1965) a modest success for a basic teen dance record. The similarly framed "Fishin' Pole" followed in 1966. The same year Hannibal adopted a more socially conscious stance. He stated "Me and my wife were watching the news and
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
was talking about how all the soldiers were coming back from Vietnam addicted to opium." The couple penned "Hymn No. 5" in a short time space, and it duly became his best known recording, reaching No. 21 on the '' Billboard''
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
. The success the track brought however fueled a growing heroin addiction, and Hannibal spent eighteen months in prison for failing to pay a tax bill. Released from jail and free of drugs, he restarted his recording career in the early 1970s now billed as King Hannibal. He issued a number of singles and an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
, ''Truth,'' (1973) on the Aware label. His singles included "I'm Coming Home," another social comment on the ongoing Vietnam situation, and the anti-drug song, "The Truth Shall Make You Free ( St. John 8:32)," a No. 37 R&B
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
in 1973.
Finding a new direction with
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
based recordings, his songwriting nevertheless suffered in the late 1970s. Hannibal was employed as a cameo role actor, and on the staff as a record producer at Venture Records, before working on the ''Atlanta Voice'' newspaper. Hannibal recalled his odd blend of
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
with "Hoedown Disco" in the mid 1970s, but worse fortunes followed as Hannibal remained in relative obscurity until 1998. A CD album release, titled ''Who Told You That,'' gave his career some momentum, and in 2001
Norton Records
Norton Records, is an independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock and early rhythm and blues.compilation album of songs written between 1958 and 1973. The cult film, ''
Velvet Goldmine
''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...
,'' also included fragments of his work.
Hannibal lost his eyesight in 2002 because of
glaucoma
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...
. He was the subject of a
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
, ''Showtime!'' (2009) directed by Ezra Bookstein. In December 2005, Hannibal was the Master of Ceremonies at Norton Records' New Year's Eve Rock N' Roll Show & Dance at Union Pool in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. He continued to perform live, and enjoyed a seventieth birthday celebration on stage in 2009. He contributed the following year on Elton John and Leon Russell's first album together, '' The Union'', by co-writing the track "There's No Tomorrow."
Hannibal died on January 30, 2014, at the age of 74.
Family life
Hannibal was the
cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
of
Vernon Jordan
Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton.
Jor ...
, and was married to fellow soul singer, Delia Gartrell.
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York after experiencing breathing problems at his home.
He was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.
Discography
Albums
*''Truth'' (1973)
*''Who Told You That'' (1998)
*''Hannibalism'' (2001) ( compilation album)
*''The Resurrection of the Mighty Hannibal'' (2007)
Chart singles
* "Hymn No. 5" (1966) - USR&Bchart No. 21
* "The Truth Shall Make You Free" (1973) - US R&B chart No. 37