Marlina Burgess (September 22, 1939 – January 19, 2024), professionally known by her stage name Marlena Shaw, was an American singer.

[4] In an interview with The New York Times, she told the reporter: "He [Jimmy Burgess] introduced me to good music through records – Dizzy [Gillespie], Miles [Davis], a lot of gospel things, and Al Hibbler, who really knows how to phrase a song."

A 1969 album track "California Soul", a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson and originally issued as a single by American pop quintet The 5th Dimension, later became a staple of the UK rare groove scene.

This song has appeared in television commercials for Dockers, KFC[6] and Dodge Ram trucks.

[7] Unable to find her own style at Chess, she moved to the jazz-oriented Blue Note Records in 1972.

She sang the theme song "Don't Ask to Stay Until Tomorrow" from the 1977 film Looking for Mr. Goodbar, that is also found on its soundtrack.