Northern Soul aficionado John Ridley writing as Sir Shambling called Timmy Shaw's "Throw It From Your Mind" "a stunning disc," characterizing it as "a cross between a religious revival song and a doo-wop featurette as Shaw appeals to the Almighty to help him out. You can picture him on his knees as he simply screams out the lyrics." The other side of the Jamie release in October 1961 was the equally stunning shouter and dance-floor filler, "A Letter From My Baby." Jamie put out the disc after buying the recordings from Northern Recording Co. a Detroit company run by a pioneering female music executive, Johnnie Mae Matthews. She also appeared with him on stage for duets and the songs were written by the artist and Matthews with James A. Bennett.
Even after selling the discs to Jamie, Matthews continued to work with and be involved in Shaw's career. She criticized the company for not pushing the record more aggressively until it was a hit. When it didn't sell, she wanted to end his contract. Jamie urged them to go back into the studio for one more try. The next release was "Mine All Mine," which came out in March, 1962, but despite following the company's advice and looking for more suitable material, it too proved unsuccessful. This unfortunately ended Timmy Shaw's relationship with Jamie, just as the company was about to embark on its greatest R&B success, Barbara Lynn's "You'll Lose a Good Thing," her first release on Jamie, which came out two months later, in May, 1962.
Timmy Shaw was born Jake Hammonds, Jr. in Detroit in September 1938. "I'll Be Your Fool" was his first recording in 1960 under the name Jay Hammond on the Hi-Q label, followed by "Hey Baby"/"Taste of the Blues" on Johnnie Mae Matthews's Audrey label.
Timmy Shaw's "Gonna Send You Back To Georgia" was his only chart record, which came out on Wand Records in 1964. It was later covered by Eric Burden and the Animals as "Gonna Send You Back to Walker," Burden's hometown in northern England.
Timmy Shaw continued to perform and record before succumbing to throat cancer at age of 45 in March 1984.
