Joan Shaw got her first break when she was 13 at the famed Apollo Theater in New York, winning an amateur talent contest that resulted in a record deal. In December 1947 she made her recording debut as a featured jazz vocalist, singing 'Rain in My Eyes' with the Buddy Tate Orchestra.( Later covered by the ROBINS with JOHNNY OTIS ) She spent the early part of her career touring and performing with such leading lights as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. From 1949 on she toured and recorded with different R&B groups including PAUL WILLIAMS, HAL SINGER, & FREDDIE MITCHELL. In 1956 she tried the pop route, recording with strings and commercial arrangements which a featured on disc two.  She has an aggressive vocal delivery on some o the R&B tunes ala ANNIE LAURIE.  Her pop stylings are pretty like DINAH WASHINGTON...................