The Mighty Hannibal

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The Mighty Hannibal
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedJanuary 30, 2014(2014-01-30) (aged 74)
New York City, U.S.
GenresR&B, soul, funk[2]
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1954–2014
LabelsVarious

James Timothy Shaw (August 9, 1939 – January 30, 2014), known as The Mighty Hannibal, was an American

radio.[2]

Biography

James Timothy Shaw was born in

Vine City neighborhood of Atlanta.[3] 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. The latter two later tasted success as part of Gladys Knight's backing group, The Pips.[2] From that time, Shaw credited Grover Mitchell as his singing voice mentor. In 1958 Shaw moved to Los Angeles where, under the name of Jimmy Shaw, he recorded his debut solo single, "Big Chief Hug-Um An' Kiss-Um", a novelty song issued on the Concept label.[3] This was followed by further releases including "The Biggest Cry", and "I Need a Woman ('Cause I'm a Man)".[2]

Subsequently working as a singer with

pimp in Los Angeles, a lifestyle that saw him dropped by King.[3]

He returned to Atlanta, and was recruited as the

hit in 1973.[2][5]

Finding a new direction with gospel 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.[2] Hannibal recalled his odd blend of country, gospel and disco finding some success in the Netherlands 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 released Hannibalism, a compilation album of songs written between 1958 and 1973.[4] The cult film, Velvet Goldmine, also included fragments of his work.[2]

Hannibal lost his eyesight in 2002 because of

Master of Ceremonies at Norton Records' New Year's Eve Rock N' Roll Show & Dance at Union Pool in Brooklyn. 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".[6]

Hannibal died on January 30, 2014, at the age of 74.[7][8]

Family life

Hannibal was the cousin of Vernon Jordan, and was married to fellow soul singer, Delia Gartrell.[2][4]

Death

Hannibal died on January 30, 2014, at St. Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx, New York after experiencing breathing problems at his home.[9]

He was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.[10]

Discography

Albums

  • Truth (1973)
  • Who Told You That (1998)
  • Hannibalism (2001) (compilation album)
  • The Resurrection of the Mighty Hannibal (2007)[11][12]

Chart singles

  • "Hymn No. 5" (1966) - US R&B chart No. 21
  • "The Truth Shall Make You Free" (1973) - US R&B chart No. 37[13]

References

  1. ^ "Mighty Hannibal, The Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1939-08-09. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j John Duffy. "The Mighty Hannibal | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Stonesoul. "The Mighty Hannibal - Hannibalism". Youknowstone.blogspot.com. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e Radford, Chad. "Soul legend the Mighty Hannibal's day of reckoning". Creativeloafing.com. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 304.
  6. ^ "The Union - Elton John,Leon Russell | Credits". AllMusic. 2010-10-19. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  7. ^ Jackson, Jhoni. "The Mighty Hannibal 1939-2014 | Music Feature | Creative Loafing Atlanta". Clatl.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  8. ^ "The Mighty Hannibal, Funk-Soul Iconoclast, Dead at 74". Entertainment.topnewstoday.org. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  9. ^ Shaw, Michelle E. (February 4, 2014). "James "The Mighty Hannibal" Shaw, 74: "His music had vision"". AJC. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  10. ^ Kearns, Chuck. "James Timothy "Mighty Hannibal" Shaw". Find A Grave. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  11. ^ "The Mighty Hannibal | Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  12. ^ "The Mighty Hannibal | Discography". AllMusic. 2001-08-14. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  13. ^ "The Mighty Hannibal | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-30.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Mighty_Hannibal&oldid=1150087672"