Biography
Joseph Melvin Shamwell has more than 110 songwriting credits registered with Broadcast Music Incorporated. His professional path started in 1967 in his native Washington, D.C., at Waxie Maxie's Record Store, where he first connected with Eddie Floyd. After relocating to Memphis, he joined Floyd on multiple compositions and also teamed with Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Tommy Tate, Steve Cropper, William Bell, Homer Banks, and additional writers. His material found its way to recordings by Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Eddie Floyd, Tommy Tate, the Bar Kays, William Bell, Con-Funk-Shun, Johnnie Taylor, and Booker T & the MG's.
He cut a duet billed as Barbara & Joe for Respect Records and co-authored "Just the Two of Us" for fellow Washington natives Peaches & Herb. After Stax ceased operations in the mid-'70s, Shamwell settled in Jackson, MS, where he performed as the "Soul Ranger," an award-winning and widely followed disk jockey whose tenure lasted through the 1980s. While based there he joined the writing roster at Malaco Records and Publishing, placing songs with Bobby "Blue" Bland, Z. Z. Hill, Little Milton, Deniece LaSalle, and other artists.
Although none of Shamwell's compositions reached the Top 20, they proved fortunate; major performers have since recorded them, among them Janet Jackson, who covered the former Johnny Daye number "What'll Do for Satisfaction" on her 1993 album Janet. His work has also appeared in the television series Matlock, 21 Jump Street, and LA Law, while the Broadway musical It Ain't Nothing But the Blues includes his "I'm a Blues Man." He later returned to D.C., where he continues preparing new material for a Peaches & Herb album in his capacity as Director of Marketing Research for ABC Radio Washington.
He cut a duet billed as Barbara & Joe for Respect Records and co-authored "Just the Two of Us" for fellow Washington natives Peaches & Herb. After Stax ceased operations in the mid-'70s, Shamwell settled in Jackson, MS, where he performed as the "Soul Ranger," an award-winning and widely followed disk jockey whose tenure lasted through the 1980s. While based there he joined the writing roster at Malaco Records and Publishing, placing songs with Bobby "Blue" Bland, Z. Z. Hill, Little Milton, Deniece LaSalle, and other artists.
Although none of Shamwell's compositions reached the Top 20, they proved fortunate; major performers have since recorded them, among them Janet Jackson, who covered the former Johnny Daye number "What'll Do for Satisfaction" on her 1993 album Janet. His work has also appeared in the television series Matlock, 21 Jump Street, and LA Law, while the Broadway musical It Ain't Nothing But the Blues includes his "I'm a Blues Man." He later returned to D.C., where he continues preparing new material for a Peaches & Herb album in his capacity as Director of Marketing Research for ABC Radio Washington.