Shawn Amos

Shawn Amos
Born Shawn Ellis Amos
(1967-09-13) September 13, 1967
New York City, New York, United States
Spouse(s) Marta Martin

Shawn Ellis Amos (born September 13, 1967) is an American songwriter, blues singer, record producer and digital marketing entrepreneur.

His most well-known album, Thank You Shirl-ee May, was released in 2005. It was written as an homage to his mother, a nightclub singer who performed under the stage name "Shirl-ee May".[1]

Personal background

Amos was born in New York, New York. He is the youngest son of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie founder Wally Amos and the only son of Shirlee Ellis (professionally known as Shirl-ee May in the early 1960s). Throughout Amos' childhood and adulthood, his mother suffered from schizoaffective disorder and ultimately committed suicide in 2003. The trauma of the event and his subsequent discovery of her early singing career were the inspiration behind his 2005 album release Thank You Shirl-ee May.[2]

On January 19, 2011, The Huffington Post released the first installment of a four-part series chronicling his childhood in 1970s Los Angeles.[3]

Amos sits on the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services Board of Directors.[4]

Amos married actress Marta Martin in 1999. The couple have three children and reside in Los Angeles.

Professional background

In 1995, Amos' song "Angel in Black" was placed in the Miramax film The Prophecy.

While at Rhino Entertainment's A&R department in 1997, Amos produced the Grammy-nominated historical box set Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words from the Harlem Renaissance.[5]

In 2001, Amos produced Quincy Jones' career overview Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones. Jones subsequently asked Amos to run his Listen Up Foundation as Executive Director.

Amos released the album In Between in 2002. In 2003, he was recruited by Rhino co-founders Richard Foos, Garson Foos and Bob Emmer to oversee the A&R department of their newly formed entertainment company, Shout! Factory.[6] The label released his Thank You Shirl-ee May album, and his song "Vicious Circle" from Harlem was sung by label mate Solomon Burke. In 2007, Amos performed on and produced the Solomon Burke & Friends: Live in Nashville televised concert.

During 2005-06, Amos conceived and co-produced a remake of the 1971 Marvin Gaye album What's Going On, performed by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band; conceived and executive produced a remix album of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass' Whipped Cream and Other Delights; and joined with Alpert and Ozomatli for a performance of "Love Potion No. 9" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in March 2006.

On November 4, 2009, Amos announced the formation of his own company, Amos Content Group, to develop content for digital media and traditional companies.[7]

In August 2012, The New York Times announced that Amos Content Group, public relations company FleishmanHillard, and GMR Marketing created a new joint venture called Freshwire.[8]

In October 2012, Amos was named one of Forbes "Up and Comers."[9]

Amos has moderated or spoken at several notable industry panels, including the Milken Institute,[10] the Thread Summit in Colorado,[11] Las Vegas' CES Convention,[12] TEDxEast,[13] and "OMD Predicts" in Dubai, an event for EMEA marketing leaders.[14]

In 2015, Freshwire officially became FleishmanHillard ContentWorks, and Amos was named Chief Content Innovation Officer of the Americas.[15]

Recent music activity

In 2014, Amos released The Reverend Shawn Amos Tells It, a six-song EP including four cover songs and two original songs.[16]

His second full-length album, The Reverend Shawn Amos Loves You, was released on October 16, 2015.[17] It was recorded in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is produced by two-time Grammy-nominated American saxophonist Mindi Abair

Studio albums

Year Title Label Format Other Information
2002 In Between Unbreakable Records CD
  • Produced by primary artist Shawn Amos and Patrick Milligan (-banjo, guitar and vocals) with musicians: Robert Jolly -drums and Ben Peeler -dobro, guitar and lap steel guitar.[18]
2005 Thank You Shirl-ee May Shout! Factory CD
2011 Harlem Unbreakable Records CD
2014 The Reverend Shawn Amos Tells It Put Together CD (EP)
2015 The Reverend Shawn Amos Loves You Put Together CD
  • Produced by saxophonist Mindi Abair, with additional guest artists The Blind Boys of Alabama and Missy Andersen, contributing musicians also include: Shawn Amos -vocals and harmonica, Mindi Abair - saxophone, Anthony Marinelli and Hassell Teekell -keyboards, Chris Roberts -guitars, Chris Thomas -bass, Brady Blade -drums and percussion, Lewis Smith -trumpet with Nick Lane providing horn arrangements.[21]

Production credits

AllMusic.com

References

  1. ↑ "A 'Thank You' Note from Shawn Amos". NPR. 2005-11-16.
  2. ↑ "Musician SHAWN AMOS On The Ups, Downs Of Family Fame". NPR. 2011-03-03.
  3. ↑ "Cookies & Milk: Scenes From a '70s Hollywood Childhood". The Huffington Post. 2011-01-09.
  4. ↑ "Didi Hirsch Board of Directors". Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  5. ↑ Dave Steinfeld (2011-03-24). "Shawn Amos: The Harlem Renaissance". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  6. ↑ Variety Staff (2003-04-29). "Shawn Amos". Variety. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  7. ↑ "Veteran Content Provider Launches New Venture". Black Vibes. 2009-11-09.
  8. ↑ "Fleishman Hillard and GMR Marketing Acquire Content Company". NYTimes.com. 2012-08-21.
  9. ↑ "Forbes Up And Comers: Matt Urmy, Charley Moore, and Shawn Amos". Forbes. 2012-10-18.
  10. ↑ "Global Conference 2012 - Next-Generation Philanthropists and Social Entrepreneurs". Milken Institute. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  11. ↑ "The Thread Summit 2014 Guest Speakers". The Thread Summit. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  12. ↑ "CES 2015: All agencies are creative agencies". PR Week. 2015-01-07.
  13. ↑ "Shawn Amos at TEDxEast". TEDx. 2014-09-10.
  14. ↑ "OMD Predicts- Propeller". YouTube. 2014-11-11.
  15. ↑ "FleishmanHillard takes wraps off global content marketing group". PR Week. 2015-06-01.
  16. ↑ "Shawn Amos – The Reverend Shawn Amos Tells It". Blues Blast Magazine. 2014-08-17.
  17. ↑ "New Album 2015". Pledge Music. 2015-06-07.
  18. ↑ "Shawn Amos In Between". AllMusic. 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  19. ↑ Mark Deming (2005). "Shawn Amos Thank You Shirl-ee May (A Love Story) [DualDisc]". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Shawn Amos – The Reverend Shawn Amos Tells It | Album Review". BluesBlast Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "The Reverend Shawn Amos Releases New Album, "The Reverend Shawn Amos Loves You"". Top40 Charts. 17 October 2015. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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