Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born American
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 ...
and performer of
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). ''Fun ...
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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century; including " Some of These Days" and " At the Darktown Strutters' Ball". He composed "Some of These Days" at the
Pekin Theatre
Established on June 18, 1904, Chicago’s Pekin Theatre was the first black owned musical and vaudeville stock theatre in the United States. Between 1904 and around 1915, the Pekin Club and its Pekin Theatre served as a training ground and showc ...
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 List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, 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
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
, and performed on the
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
circuit (notably, as a Bert Williamsimitator) 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 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 Character (arts), charac ...
comedies. 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 in 1927, he stopped appearing in stage shows and pursued a nightclub act. He had a
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
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
''Harlem Is Heaven'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code crime drama and musical (film), musical film directed by Irwin Franklyn and featuring a virtually all African-American cast.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, ...
* 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"
* 1917 "Somewhere-Somewhere in France" (with William Vaughan Dunham)
* 1919 "Jean" (popularized by Isham Jones)
* 1919 "Tell Me Why You Want to Go to Paree (You Can Get the Same Sweet Loving Here at Home)"
Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...