Eddie Shaw obit

Eddie Shaw, favorite of BG blues fans, dies at 80

 

He was not on the list.

Bluesman Eddie Shaw, who made frequent appearances in Bowling Green, died Monday (Jan. 29, 2018).

His passing was confirmed by his booking agent Jay Reil.

Shaw, vocalist, saxophonist, and band leader, played many shows over the past several decades in Bowling Green. Those included shows at Howard’s Cub H, and later Grounds for Thought, and the Black Swamp Arts Festival.

Grounds proprietor Kelly Wicks, who booked him in his shop and at the festival, said Shaw was like Bowling Green’s resident bluesman.

The feeling was mutual. Before a 2013 at Grounds, Shaw said Bowling Green was like a home away from home for him. He had a lot of friends in the area, he said.

Shaw, 80, started playing the blues as a teenager in Mississippi.

In 1972 he joined blues legend Howlin’ Wolf’s band, the Wolf Pack, and when the leader died in 1976, Shaw took the helm and continued to lead the group until his death.

Shaw most recently performed in Bowling Green as the closing act of the 2014 Black Swamp Arts Festival.

Shaw's many contributions to the blues included arranging tracks for The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (which featured Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Ringo Starr and others) and performing with blues notables, including Hound Dog Taylor, Freddie King, Otis Rush and Magic Sam (on his Black Magic album).

One of his sons, Eddie "Vaan" Shaw Jr. (born November 6, 1955), joined the Wolf Gang and played on some of his father's recordings, using a unique three-neck Fender guitar. A disciple of Wolf's protégé Hubert Sumlin, he has recorded two albums of his own – Morning Rain and The Trail of Tears. Another son, Stan Shaw (born 1952), is a character actor based in Hollywood, California.

Shaw appeared in the 2007 film Honeydripper.