I Want To Know

Continuing the development of our series of Black Gospel collections we now present one of the most exciting singers of the early fifties. Brother Cecil Shaw made only 18 recordings in his short career, all of which are presented here, but they were hugely influential over the groups that became popular in the later Fifties. Ray Charles was a big fan, and there is a brief mention of Shaw’s congregation in the recent “Ray” movie as his first wife was a member of the Union Spiritual harmonisers. The April issue of the magazine Blues and Rhythm featured a three-page article on Shaw all of which is reproduced in the booklet notes. You will not have heard vocalising as powerful and unrestrained as this in a long time.