Jean
Shy
is
an
internationally acclaimed
Soul, Blues, Jazz,
and Gospel
Singer; Songwriter, Music Producer, Actress,
and Author.
With four Top Ten
Hits under her belt, the 2009 Blues Music Award
Nominee for “Soul Blues Female Artist Of The
Year,”
is
definitely a multi-talented, truly unique
Artist, and audiences are overwhelmed by her
powerful vocal delivery, and entertaining Show.
Born in Chicago,
Jean's vocal background had it's
beginning in
Gospel Music.
Elvis
Presley was her first
inspiration to become a professional Entertainer in
commercial Music.
Later she was also greatly
influenced by
Mahalia Jackson, Sammy Davis
Jr., Ella
Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Dionne
Warwick, Dinah Washington, Carmen McRae,
and others. Jean was already receiving
awards for her musical talents by the time
she reached High School. At the age of twelve she was
signed by
Leonard and Phil Chess
to the legendary Chess
Label in Chicago. The release of “Spring
Fever” by Tim &
Jean became a Regional Hit.
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 Just before
leaving High School Jean was
signed by Carl
Davis for
Brunswick Records. With
various regional Record successes she
toured as an Opening-Act on
the "Chitlin Circuit" with
Otis Leavill,
Tyrone Davis,
Barbara Acklin,
The Chi-Lites, The O'Jays, Al
Green, The Stylistics, and
Jackie
Wilson,
gathering a tremendous
amount of Stage
Experience.
Jean wrote her first Album which was produced by
Hense Powell;
Executive Produced by Emerson Featherstone. One Single from that production "Speak
Talk About It"
was
signed by Jay
Butler to Playboy Records. |
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Jean Shy was later produced by
Harvey Fuqua
who was the founder and
lead
singer for seminal R&B/doo
wop group
The Moonglows.
He was an early mentor of
Marvin Gaye, (co-producing "Sexual Healing" and
Gaye's hit duets with Tammi Terrell),
helped to develop several Motown acts,
and helped to launch the careers of '70s
soul-pop group New Birth, and disco
superstar Sylvester (Disco Heat, You Make Me Feel Mighty Real).
The Songs Harvey
produced on Jean were released on
Honey Records,
and a few others in
conjunction with Fantasy Records. |
Jean and Harvey Fuqua |
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Jean and Carlo Bohlaender |
In 1978
Jean branched out and went to Europe.
Soon after she arrived in Frankfurt,
Germany she
performed
at the famous Jazz Kneipe owned by Musician Wolfgang Dosch.
There she met
Dr. Carlo Bohlaender one of
Europe's
acclaimed
Jazz Critics,
Trumpet Player and Book Author
who introduced her into Frankfurt's Jazz
Scene as well as to one of Germany’s Top Jazz, Blues &
Gospel Booking Agents "Dieter Nentwig".
Carlo included
Jean in his series of Jazz
Encyclopedias as the youngest Jazz
Vocalist, which Jean is very proud of. |
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 After the
performance of a few Jazz Concerts the
Cultural Department
sent Jean
as a cultural Ambassador
to represent the city "Frankfurt am
Main" in the Partner City Milano, Italy, with an
Open Air performance in front of the
world famous Skala
which Jean performed with one of
Frankfurt’s Top Jazz Bands
Herbert Christ & The Jazz Babies.
Shy
met Chilly Producer Bernt Moehrle
(pictured right) in
Frankfurt who produced two Singles
"Layla" and
"Do The Locomotion" on
her, which were released on Polydor
Records.
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 Soon after Jean signed a contract with
Al Coury, President
of R.S.O. Records
through her Business Manager
Nick Sevano, who
also managed
Artist such as Glen Campbell
and Julia McGuinnes.
Producer Bob Esty was brought in to
produce Shy while he was working on
Albums with
Barbara Streisand
and Cher.
The release of this now considered "classic" 12"
Single production of the Song
"Night
Dancer," written
by Bob Esty,
and Michael W. Brooks,
brought Jean her
first national Record success, which was a number nine US Hit in the
Billboard Top 100 Disco Charts.
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 "Night Dancer" also
became one of the Soundtracks in the Movie
"Roller Boogie" starring
Linda Blair. The B-Side was
the classic Jazz Song
"That Old
Black Magic"
which was #13
in the US Dance Charts.
After
her success with R.S.O. Jean returned to Europe making
Germany her second home.
Soon after, she signed an exclusive Booking Contract
with the Dieter Nentwig International Musikagentur.
Because a well known Colleague had to cancel a
performance at the
Lahnstein
Blues Festival
presented by SWF Radio, Jean
was booked to perform
with
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The Frankfurt City Blues Band,
this concert, which was
also recorded and
broadcast by
SWF Radio, exceeded all expectations.
After that, countless
performances at national and International Jazz & Blues Festivals with The Frankfurt City Blues Band, and other known
Bands such as The Blues Company,
The Barrelhouse Jazz Band, Climax Band Cologne, and
Jazz Band
Ball Orchestra
followed.
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Since 1982
Jean has been working with the German Label
King
Edward Records. Her first Album produced by
Hense Powell entitled
"Maze (I Just Wanna Escape)" was released
in 1983.
Believing in
Jean Shy in every aspect of her musical Talent
the Label
has supported her
diverse Music Styles, therefore
releasing various Cd’s by her over
the Years, which, just like her Concerts, range from
Rhythm & Blues/Rock to Jazz and Gospel.
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 Jean formed
her own Band
Streetblues
with
Vladimir Rada
(Bass), Gerd Freymann
(Drums), Hannsjoerg Scheid
(Guitar), and Mike Hoffmann
(Piano). With the finishing of their first Album
together
in 1984
entitled
"Tough Enough" the Band Name was changed to "Bordell".
When King Edward Records
made a contract with
"Record Shack Records" in England, for
the release of "Tough
Enough," the Band Name was changed once again.
"Jean Shy & The Shy
Guys" was born. Soon after, The Shy
Guys consisted of
new members only.
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 Two original members of -The
new Shy Guys- Klaus Zimmermann
(Guitar), and
Martin Hoette
(Guitar) as well as long time members
Bernhard Spiess (Drums),
Sascha Kuehn (Keyboards), and Bernd Winterschladen (Sax)
are still performing
as part of the Band
today.
The newest addition
to the Group was
Michael -Schnuff- Strohm
(Bass), and a few years later
Georg Mahr on the B3
Hammond Organ, who had been a Guest Musician on many
Jean Shy Shows during the last 15 Years.
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Dove Soap
Commercial
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In between Touring, and Recording in Europe, Jean has gone
back and forth between Germany, and Los Angeles. In 1988
she signed a five year contract with Lever Brothers, to do a
:15 and :30 Sec.
Commercial for
Dove Soap. She became the National
Dove
Soap Lady Of
The Year.
The Dove Soap Spot won the CEBA Award Of Excellence. Shy was then
represented by one of Americas biggest Commercial
Agencies Sutton, Barth & Vennari,
through which she landed other major Commercials for
Silo Electronics,
US West Communications and
Ames Department
Stores.
Jean also played a Leading Role in the Soap-Opera
"Secret
Passions" as
Council woman June Tshwaila. During that same time
period Jean hosted her own TV Talk Show
"The
Jean Shy
Rhythm &
News
Show" produced by
Walker
Entertainment which
aired
weekly
on Cable
TV.
After
the
Germany release
of
her
CD
"Ready
For
Love"
produced
by
Michael McGregor, and
alongside
of performing
with
her
Shy
Guys,
Jean
joined
an
interesting
project
in
1994.
She was the
featured
Singer for
the Dutch
formation
T-Spoon
which prior
had two Top
10 Hits.
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 T-Spoon
featuring
Jean
Shy
(pictured
right) landed
a No. 5 Hit with
the very jazzy oriented
euro dance track
"Where
R U
Now", and
with the remake of the Janis Joplin Song
"Mercedes Benz"
in an euro reggae style,
they made it to
No. 7 in the Benelux.
With the following Project
N678ALL featuring Jean
Shy she
landed at No.32 on the British Dance Charts with the Song
"Summernation".
Upon the request of many Fans over the Years,
Jean
Shy
&
The
Shy
Guys finally recorded a -Live-CD- in 1998, entitled
"Unchain
My
Heart". |
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Because Jean almost always performs at least one Gospel
Song during her Concerts, whether high powered Soul,
or Jazz, many of her European Fans requested
her
to do a traditional Gospel
Album. Finally in
1999 Jean recorded her first Gospel
CD "Amazing Grace," with a
smaller "Shy Guys" formation.
Going
back to her Roots, with
"Amazing
Grace," Jean has gone on many Gospel Tours in
Germany, presenting her Special Gospel & Spiritual
Program "Jean Shy sings Mahalia
Jackson," live as well as on this CD.
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 Her
next CD "Still Swingin' (After All
These
Years)" was recorded Live in Cologne with
The
Climax
Band, with whom she prior recorded the Albums
"The
Night
Time
Is
The
Right
Time,"
and
"Just
The
Way
We
Are".
Performing
with
THE
CLIMAX
BAND
has
been
a
continuous Special
Project
for
Jean over the Years,
keeping
her
Jazz
Roots
alive
in
Germany,
and
in
The
Netherlands. The |
CD
"Still Swingin' (After All These Years),"
was recorded in
celebration of their 20th Anniversary.
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 In
May 2002 Jean Shy toured as a Special Guest with the
Jazz Band Ball Orchestra (JBBO) from Krakow for the first time, even
though they had been playing on many of the same Stages
for over twenty Years. The JBBO is Poland's oldest, and
Internationally best known European Jazz Formation.
During their Tour they performed at Jazz Festivals in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.
In Hungary the Concert at
the Salgotarjan Jazz Festival was recorded and broadcast by Magyar Radio.
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Since the
Tour was such an excellent success, they recorded a
Jazz & Blues CD together at the Radio Krakow Studio,
entitled "The Other Side Of Blue".
The CD was released in Poland in 2003. Other Tours
within Poland, and adjacent countries followed, along with national Live-TV
Performances, including the Polish
Oscars at which the JBBO won
an Award once again for being "The
Best Jazz Band of the Year," presenting Jean Shy
as their Special Guest. The performances, and the CD
received a great response from
critiques, and audiences alike.
In September 2004 Jean got a leading part in a National
TV Spot as well as the Print Advertisement for
Target, one of the
largest Department Stores in the USA. She also hosted her new Cable TV Talk Show "In the Spotlight with Jean Shy".
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Jean
Shy’s second Gospel Album entitled "One Day" is a mixture of
live,
and Studio recordings with her Shy Guys. The Album, as well as the first Radio
Single entitled "Precious
Memories" was released
in the US on April 14.2005, as a joint Venture between King Edward Records, and Featherstone Records, and received much Airplay on
Gospel Radio Stations across the country.
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 On Oct. 31.2008 King Edward Records released
the Jean Shy & The Shy Guys CD
The Blues Got Soul.
In
conjunction with this CD the Blues Foundation
nominated Jean Shy for the
2009 Blues Music Awards
in the category of Soul
Blues Female Artists of The Year.
The Music of Jean Shy
& The Shy Guys are comparable to Groups like
The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Led
Zeppelin, and Aerosmith.
Click
here to listen to Sound Bytes from THE
BLUES GOT SOUL. Enjoy!
To
hear
Sound Bytes from all Jean Shy CD's click on the
Music
link. |
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The Jean Shy Biography can be copied
under the Creative Commons license.
When re-printing in part, or in it's entirety please give credit to
www.jeanshy.com
For more information about the license click on the
CC icon.
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