Some Play Marvin Gaye or Al Green to Get Loose, but the Mighty Hannibal Is the Way to Go: See for Yourself this Friday at Warsaw

I've loved Hannibal's sound since the first time I heard him. His songs are soulful, the way Sam Cooke's songs are soulful, yet they have this slight Rudy Ray Moore-ness about them. Norton Records recently released the first-ever collection of Hannibal's music, Hannibalism!, which incorporates classics and out-of-print sides that span from his 1958 debut, Big Chief Hug-Um An' Kiss-Um to 1973's Party Life, loads of other singles plus four unreleased tracks. His early recordings, from the late 50s through the 60s, are more reminiscent of Cooke than the work from the 70s, which sounds more Motown/James Brown.

Born as James T. Shaw in 1939, he got his start singing in a doo-wop group called the Overalls?and, yes, they wore overalls. Shaw was a teenager in Atlanta when he first began playing music. At the age of 15, he recalls, he paid 50 cents to see James Brown play an Atlanta basement. Little Richard suggested that Shaw write a book about those times down south. Shaw told Richard that he was no memoir-ready legend, and Richard replied, "Yeah, but you was there." And there, living the life alongside many great musicians, was the exact truth. During Shaw's 18 years in Atlanta, he witnessed shows by blues artist Jimmy Reed, guitarist Lee Moses and Little Richard.

Shaw moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music. Shortly thereafter, Big Chief Hug-Um An' Kiss-Um was released under the name Jimmy Shaw?it wasn't until 1959 that he adopted the moniker Hannibal. For the photo shoot for Big Chief Shaw wore an Indian headdress. Norton couldn't find the image, and instead used a mid-60s photograph of Hannibal in a turban for the cover. The story goes that he had an afro at the time and he didn't want to look like everyone else.

Hannibalism!'s 28 tracks run the gamut from wild to sometimes soothing r&b numbers like "Please Take a Chance on Me" (which sounds real similar to Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me") to upbeat songs like "Motha Goose Breaks Loose." "Please Take a Chance on Me" was first released on Aki Aleong's label; he was responsible for Shaw changing his name to Hannibal. (At the time Hannibal was one of the few male music artists who went by just one name. Dion was another.)

Some people play Marvin Gaye or Al Green when they want to get loose, but I'm beginning to think the Mighty Hannibal is the way to go. He has beautifully sung crooners like 1960's "Fall in Love with Me," which features the vocals of the amazing Hannah Savage. It's as if Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand made "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" 20 years before they did, but better, and not white. "My Name Is Hannibal" is another, more audacious crooner that'll make you wanna learn how to do the boogaloo?or at least wish you lived back when people like Hannibal played sock hops. Shaw was hot, and he definitely knew how to write a soul tune. It's unfortunate he never reached the status of some of his compatriots.

Playing music didn't pay much during those times, maybe $15 a night?just enough to get Hannibal loaded?so it wasn't long before he tried his hand at being a pimp. It was Billie Holiday's husband, Louis McKay, who first showed Hannibal the ways of pimpdom. He carried a card that bore the title Master Advisor and Maintainer of Women's Affairs. He also got work in the movies, appearing next to Chuck Norris in Force of One, and scored a starring role in the tv series Palmertown USA, about Alex Haley's hometown in Tennessee. Hannibal became friends with the legendary Rudy Ray Moore (who also has a new rerelease on Norton, This Ain't No White Christmas). Like Moore, Hannibal loves to sing about the ladies?although he doesn't cop any roles comparable to the ones played by Dolemite. On "My Name Is Hannibal" he promises, "I'm gonna turn the pretty girls out." And on the love-smitten "All Nite Long" the lyrics go: "No more lonely nights I have to be alone/I got a woman I can call me own/All nite long?and when she kisses me, she makes me shout."

After releasing a slew of singles on several labels, Hannibal formed his own independent label called Sharob, named after himself and his pal/pimp friend James Roberts. Sharob put out "Not a Friend" and "All Nite Long"; the latter can be heard on Hannibalism!

Around this time Marvin Gaye came to Los Angeles. Hannibal tells a story in his Hannibalism! liner notes:

When he started out, he didn't have no movement whatsoever. He had as much rhythm as a postal clerk. I was a dancing motherfucker, and I taught him these dances and he got the Hitch Hike from me outta that. Dig, me and Marvin put up nineteen dollars in cab fare trying to chase down some weed. When we finally got it, the cops pulled up behind us and we had to eat it all!

Shaw had a chance to sing on Sam Cooke's famous "Bring It on Home to Me" track, but unfortunately another guy, named Lou Rawls, got the gig because "Lou was hungry." Hannibal was also friendly with Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix, and claims to have introduced the two. The stories go on and on.

Some 30 or even 40 years have passed since James T. Shaw was in his prime, but he's still got magic. He's coming down from Harlem this weekend to play Warsaw in Greenpoint, opening for the punky soul revivalists Detroit Cobras.

The Mighty Hannibal plays Fri., Dec. 28 at Warsaw, 261 Driggs Ave. (betw. Eckford & Leonard Sts.), Brooklyn, 718-387-5252.