Graham Shaw (musician)

Graham Shaw is a Canadian composer and rock singer,[1] most noted for winning the Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist at the Juno Awards of 1981.[2]

Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba,[1] Shaw performed in several local bands — including a stint in The Deverons alongside Burton Cummings before Cummings left to join The Guess Who.[1] He formed the band The Sincere Serenaders in 1977, and was signed to Capitol Records.[1] Shaw later revealed that the Capitol contract was for him as a solo artist, and that when he was preparing to record the band's debut album the label pressured him to fire the band and rely on session musicians, although he refused.[1] The band's self-titled debut album was released on Capitol in 1980, and had top 40 hits in Canada with "Can I Come Near" (#15) and "French Lady" (#32).

The band signed to True North Records for their second album, Good Manners in the 1980s, in 1981.[1] The album was less successful, however, and Shaw concentrated on session and jingle work for several years thereafter.[1] In 1985, Shaw participated in the Northern Lights project as a chorus member on the charity single "Tears Are Not Enough".[3] The Sincere Serenaders have never released another album, although they have sometimes performed reunion concerts in Winnipeg.[4]

Shaw later concentrated primarily on television composing work, including the theme songs to the children's television series Theodore Tugboat,[1] CBC News programs such as Venture, Marketplace and nearly the entire CBC Newsworld schedule,[1] and Esso's "You're on your way with Esso" jingle.[1]

He released the solo album Raw Shaw, his first recording since Good Manners in the 1980s, independently in 2008.[1]