Marlena Shaw, the jazz and soul singer best known for her 1969 recording of “California Soul,” has died. She was 81.
Shaw’s daughter, Marla Bradshaw, confirmed her death in a video posted on Facebook on Friday (Jan. 19).
“It’s with a very heavy heart that for myself and our family, I announce that our beloved mother, your beloved icon and artist, Marlena Shaw, has passed away today at 12:03,” she said.
“She was peaceful,” she continued. “We were at peace. I know that you just saw posts of a birthday celebration just as soon as yesterday, and my twin sister and I were very grateful – and our family – that she was here in celebration for that.”
“Right now, she’s at peace. She’s in Heaven. I do know that,” Shaw’s daughter added. She shared that “she went listening to some of her favorite songs.”
Born on Sept. 22, 1939, as Marlina Burgess in New Rochelle, New York, the singer has said her uncle Jimmy Burgess got her into music. Burgess was a jazz trumpet player.
