Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century.

Early life and education

Brooks was born in Amherstburg, Canada in 1886. His father was a preacher, and Brooks taught himself music on their church's pump organ. His family moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, in 1901 and that was where Brooks first made a name for himself in music and comedy. While he never learned to read music, his works were highly sought after for their brash style, which contrasted the previous restrictive styles of Victorian era music. Towards the end of his life, his style of music had lost popularity.

Career

Brooks sang, played

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and performed on the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

circuit (notably, as a Bert Williams imitator) as well as having a successful songwriting career. His first hit song was " Some of These Days", which he was able to get to headliner

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

in 1909. Tucker adopted it as her theme song, and performed it regularly for the next 55 years. He starred in several 1920s

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

. He appeared in the cast of Lew Leslie's Plantation Revue, which was opened in 1922. After the sudden death of his partner

Florence Mills Florence Mills (born Florence Winfrey; January 25, 1896 – November 1, 1927), billed as the "Queen of Happiness", was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian. Life and career Florence Mills (Florence Winfrey) was born a daughter of for ...

in 1927, he stopped appearing in stage shows and pursued a nightclub act. He had a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

show on the CBS network in the 1930s, and he is also credited as a contributor to the music featured in the 1932 film '' Harlem Is Heaven''. In the 1940s he became a regular in Ken Murray's "Blackouts", a long-running salute to

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

that played in both New York and Los Angeles, California. Brooks sang and provided piano accompaniments on records with vocalists

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

and

Sara Martin Sara Martin (June 18, 1884 – May 24, 1955) was an American blues singer, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker". She made many recordings, ...

Discography

Brooks' works include " Some of These Days", " At the Darktown Strutters' Ball", "

I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone "I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone?" is a ragtime/blues song written by Shelton Brooks in 1913. Sometimes categorized as hokum, it led to an answer song written in 1915 by W.C. Handy, "Yellow Dog Rag", later titled "Yellow Dog Blues". Lines and ...

", "Every Day", "Somewhere in France", "Swing That Thing", "That Man of Mine", and "There'll Come a Time". He also composed "Honey Gal, You Aint Talkin' to Me" and "If I Were a Bee and You Were a Red, Red Rose".

Partial list of songs

* 1909 "You ain't talkin' to me" *1910 "Honey Gal" *1910 " Some of These Days" *1911 "Jean" *1911 "There'll come a time" * 1912 "You ain't no place but down South" *1912 "All Night Long" *1913 "I wonder where my easy rider's gone" * 1916 " Walkin' the Dog" * 1916 "

Darktown Strutters' Ball "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' ...

" * 1917 "Somewhere-Somewhere in France" (with William Vaughan Dunham) * 1919 "Jean" (popularized by

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jone ...

) * 1919 "Tell Me Why You Want to Go to Paree (You Can Get the Same Sweet Loving Here at Home)"

References

External links

* * * *
Shelton Brooks recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Shelton 1886 births 1975 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Musicians from Detroit 20th-century Black Canadian male singers Canadian songwriters Canadian pop pianists Canadian jazz pianists Canadian male musical theatre actors Canadian impressionists (entertainers) Vaudeville performers Okeh Records artists People from Amherstburg, Ontario Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian comedians 20th-century Canadian pianists Canadian male jazz musicians