Robert Shaw (blues musician)
| Robert Shaw | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 9, 1908 Stafford, Texas, United States |
| Died | May 18, 1985 (aged 76) Austin, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Blues, boogie-woogie |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Piano, vocals |
| Years active | Early 1930s–1985 |
| Labels | Arhoolie |
Robert Shaw (August 9, 1908 – May 18, 1985) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist, best known for his 1963 album, The Ma Grinder.
Shaw was born in Stafford, Texas, the son of farm owners Jesse and Hettie Shaw, who owned a farm there. The family also owned a Steinway grand piano, and his sisters had lessons in playing, but Shaw's father was against allowing his son to learn the instrument.
Shaw worked with his father on the family's ranch, and played the piano whenever his family was out; the first song he learned was "Aggravatin' Papa Don't You Try to Two-Time Me." In adolescence, Shaw travelled to Houston to listen to jazz musicians, and at nearby roadhouses. He then found a piano teacher and paid for lessons with his earnings.
He learned a barrelhouse style of playing from musicians in the Fourth Ward, Houston. In the 1920s Shaw was part of the "Santa Fe Circuit", named after touring musicians utilising the Santa Fe freight trains. Although he played in Chicago, Shaw mainly restricted himself to Texas, performing as a soloist in the clubs and roadhouses of Sugarland, Richmond, Kingsville, Houston and Dallas. In 1930, at the height of the Kilgore oil boom, Shaw played there. Two years later he traveled to Kansas City, Kansas, to perform. In 1933 he hosted a radio show in Oklahoma City. He relocated to Texas, first to Fort Worth and then to Austin. Here he settled down and took up residence, owning a grocery store known as the Stop and Swat.
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