Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...
comprising Brooks' interpretations of songs from the movies from the 1920s and 1930s. The album's title references all of the selections being introduced, or prominently featured, in mid-20th century movie releases. It is notable partly for being the first CD album pressed in the UK, by Nimbus at its factory in Hertfordshire in 1984.
Background
''Screen Gems'' was released on October 1, 1984, with vinyl and cassette versions of the album following a month later. Brooks' label
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
assigned marketing of the album to
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
, which had recently established a "television exploitation" department. A national televised advertising campaign began at the end of October 1984, coinciding with the vinyl and cassetterelease. Although expected to be Brook's biggest seller to date, the album failed to chart until December 1984 and was not one of Brooks' most successful albums with a No. 35 peak in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
- matching that of Brook's precedent album release ''
Minutes
Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the activit ...
'' - during an 11-week chart run. With ''Screen Gems'' Brooks' association with A&M, who had released all of her seven albums, ended. The original CD version of ''Screen Gems'' is now a collectors' item due to its rarity, selling on
eBay
eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
Bud Green
Bud Green (19 November 1897 – 2 January 1981) was an American lyricist especially of Broadway musicals and show tunes
Early life and family
Green was born Moses David Green in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and immigrated to the United Stat ...
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# "Am I Blue" (
Harry Akst
Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963) - accessed November 19, 2011 was an American
,
Grant Clarke
Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter.
Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, ...
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...
,
Lew Brown
Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian.
Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...
,
Dave Dreyer
Dave Dreyer (September 22, 1894 in Brooklyn, New York – March 1, 1967 in New York City) was an American composer and pianist.
He started off as a pianist with vaudeville greats such as Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Belle Baker, and Frank Fay. In ...
,
Billy Rose
Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...
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# "
Blue Moon
A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects.
The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...
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Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
,
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...
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# "
Some of These Days
"Some of These Days" is a popular song, written and composed by Shelton Brooks, published in 1910, and associated with the performer Sophie Tucker.
Background
Shelton Brooks and "Some of These Days" was brought to Sophie Tucker's attention in ...
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Shelton Brooks
Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born American composer and performer of popular music and jazz. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th cent ...
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...
Andy Razaf
Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was the American lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". He was also a composer, poet and vocalist.
Biograph ...
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# "
You'll Never Know
"You'll Never Know", sometimes referred to as "You'll Never Know (Just How Much I Love You)" in later years, is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Mack Gordon. The song is based on a poem written by a young Okla ...
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Harry Warren
Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...
,
Mack Gordon
Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1 ...
)
# "
What'll I Do?
"What'll I Do" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1923. It was introduced by singers Grace Moore and John Steel late in the run of Berlin's third ''Music Box Revue'' and was also included in the following year's edition."American Classics - ...
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Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Young was posthumously awarded the ...
,
Ned Washington
Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Life and career
Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...
Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson may refer to:
* Walter Donaldson (snooker player), (1907–1973) Scottish snooker player
* Walter Donaldson (songwriter), (1893–1947) American songwriter
{{human name disambiguation, Donaldson, Walter ...
,
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
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London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...
–
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...