By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
REMEMBERING EDDIE
Eddie Shaw
E
ddie Shaw was a Chicago blues icon
whose talents, personality and
knowledge helped define and
shape the essence of the genre. If you
never witnessed Eddie blasting his tenor
sax over 12 bar notes and belting out clas-
sics like “Ode to Howlin’ Wolf” or "I
Ain’t Superstitious,” then you have
missed out on a seminal Chicago blues
experience. An outsized presence who
captured stages as well as hearts easily,
Eddie Shaw was beloved by everyone he
met. During his 60+ year career, he col-
lected awards, albums, and accolades.
Eddie was inducted into the Blues Hall of
Fame in 2014, and he performed with
Chicago blues greats Muddy Waters,
Howlin’ Wolf, Magic Sam, Elmore James
and Otis Rush, but he never lost his
humility and warmth. A gracious mentor
for several generations of blues musi-
cians, his influence will live on for
decades to come.
“Eddie was one of the last of the eld-
ers, he represented one of the last rem-
nants of his generation,” said blues harp
master Billy Branch. “He was a direct link
to Howlin’ Wolf and all the Chicago
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Maybe so, but Eddie’s talent and genial
personality played as much a part as luck
when it came to his musicianship. When
Howlin’ Wolf died in 1976, Eddie contin-
ued his legacy by leading various incarna-
tions of the Wolf Gang band throughout
his career.
In addition to popularizing the saxo-
phone in Chicago blues, Eddie was one of
the few blues musicians that also man-
aged to run a nightclub. The popular 1812
Club was a West Side hallmark during the
‘70s, which featured greats like Jimmy
Dawkins, Otis Rush and was reputed to
be Howlin Wolf’s favorite hangout. At
various times, Eddie also managed to run
a barbecue joint and a laundromat all
while touring, writing and performing.
A keen songwriter, Eddie was never
content just to play the old blues classics.
He developed his own evocative tales,
from the swaggering instrumental “Blues
For The West Side,” to the humorous “I
Don’t Trust Nobody,” later covered by
George Thorogood. Eddie produced a
consistent stream of standout albums,
including King of the Road (Rooster Blues)
in 1986 and Can’t Stop Now (Delmark) in
1997. In 2007, Eddie took a page from the
book of his veteran actor son Stan Shaw
and appeared in the 2007 film about an
Alabama juke joint, *Honey Dripper. But
with all his versatility, Eddie loved being
on the road best of all. “He lived to play
the blues. I never knew anybody to be on
the road like he did, at his age. He’d get in
that van and drive to Canada, to the east
coast, wherever he had a kid,” recalled
Billy Branch.
As Eddie always said “Blues is a feel-
ing, baby” and he carried that feeling with
him until the end.
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greats. He recorded with them all. Eddie
was a Chicago institution; he was one of
the last remaining from the golden era of
Chicago blues.”
Born on a Mississippi plantation,
Eddie moved to Greenville and learned to
play the trombone, clarinet, and saxo-
phone in high school. Surrounded by the
fertile ground of blues heritage, he
absorbed blues in all its forms. Eddie even
learned to play the “Mississippi
Saxophone” – also called the harmonica -
since it was such an essential element in
blues music. He joined the local band, The
Green Tops as a teen and started playing
at area dances. Soon, he was playing with
master musicians Ike Turner, Elmore
James, and Little Milton. He honed his
chops playing with Ike Turner’s band all
over Mississippi. By the time he started
college in Ita B