The Sha-Weez

about

New Orleans R&B outfit the Sha-Weez formed on the campus of Booker T. Washington High School in 1950. According to Marv Goldberg's profile in the September 1977 issue of Yesterday's Memories, the founding lineup featured Edgar "Big Boy" Myles on trombone and vocals, James "Sugarboy" Crawford on piano and vocals, Irving "Cat" Bannister on guitar and vocals, Alfred "Hot Lips" Woodard on trumpet, Eric "Skee-za" Warner on drums, Nolan "Sha-Wee" Blackwell on alto sax, Warren "Jake" Myles on piano, and the nickname-free Alfred Bernard and David Lastie on tenor saxes. The group's odd name derived from their theme song, Blackwell's instrumental "Cha-Paka-Sha-Wees," which roughly translates from the Creole "We are not raccoons." During an appearance on local radio, they were introduced as the "'Cha-Paka-Sha-Wees' musicians," and the moniker stuck. Producer Dave Bartholomew signed the Sha-Weez to New Orleans imprint Aladdin Records in late 1952, helming their debut session at Cosimo Matassa's legendary J&M Studios. Crawford was slated to sing lead vocal, but a previous live performance left his voice so strained that "Big Boy" Myles stepped to the fore instead; "No One to Love Me" appeared at year's end, becoming a local hit and earning the group live appearances throughout the Gulf Coast region. Still, Aladdin resisted releasing the remaining material from the Sha-Weez's J&M session, nor did the label book another studio date. The group nevertheless remained under contract to the

top songs

albums

similar artists