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Biography
James Timothy Shaw (August 9, 1939 – January 30, 2014), known as The Mighty Hannibal, was an American R&B, soul and funk singer, songwriter and record producer. Known for his showmanship, and outlandish costumes often incorporating a pink turban, several of his songs carried social or political themes. His biggest hit was "Hymn No.5," a commentary on the effects of the Vietnam War on servicemen, which was banned on radio.
James Timothy Shaw was born to parents Corrie Belle and James Henry Shaw, and raised in the Vine City neighborhood of Atlanta. He started singing doo-wop as a teenager, and in 1954 he joined his first group, The Overalls. The outfit contained Shaw and Robert Butts plus Edward Patten and Merald "Bubba" Knight. The latter two later tasted success as part of Gladys Knight's backing group, The Pips. From that time, Shaw credited Grover Mitchell as his singing voice mentor. In 1958 Shaw moved to Los Angeles where, under the name of Jimmy Shaw, he recorded his debut solo single, "Big Chief Hug-Um An' Kiss-Um," a novelty song issued on the Concept label. This was followed by further releases including "The Biggest Cry," and "I Need a Woman ('Cause I'm a Man)."