Woman of the Ghetto

It was recorded in 1969 at Ter Mar Studios in Chicago for Marlena Shaw’s album The Spice of Life. Richard Evans and Charles Stepney handled the production and arrangement, with Shaw, Bobby Miller, and Evans credited as the writers. The track was one of the defining songs from The Spice of Life and became a signature statement in Shaw’s Cadet-era catalog. Its socially pointed lyric and strong arrangement helped make it a durable standout from 1969 soul-jazz. It has remained widely heard through sampling, interpolation, and cover versions, including Blue Boy’s “Remember Me” and later uses by Mabel, Ghostface Killah, Buckshot and 9th Wonder, and Flume. That continued reuse has kept the song active across soul, dance, and hip-hop audiences.