Ryan Shaw

Born December 26, 1980, in Decatur, Georgia, throwback soul singer Ryan Shaw grew up inside a devoutly religious household. His introduction to music came through the Pentecostal church, where he started performing at age three and delivered his first solo two years later. Religious song remained central to his world, so while attending Georgia State University he auditioned for and secured a role in a gospel stage production. In 1998 he left school to join the touring cast of Tyler Perry’s I Know I’ve Been Changed and relocated to New York. Once the show closed, he began interpreting vintage Motown numbers and 1950s–’60s dance tunes—repertoire largely unknown to him after a childhood limited to sacred material—and, in 2004, became a member of the Fabulous Soul Shakers. Guitarist Johnny Gale urged his acquaintance Jimmy Bralower to hear the vocalist; impressed, the percussionist and producer invited Shaw and Gale to his residence in 2006 to cut a brief demo. Columbia Records responded by releasing the 2007 album This Is Ryan Shaw, which mixed covers of Wilson Pickett, Bobby Womack, and Jackie Wilson with several original tracks. Shaw subsequently supported Van Halen on tour and scored further recognition with the 2010 release It Gets Better. His third album, Real Love, came out on Dynotone in 2012.