Pearl's a Singer
1977 Elkie Brooks song
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"Pearl's a Singer" is a song by English singer Elkie Brooks, as taken from her 1977 album Two Days Away which was produced by the song's co-writers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The original version of "Pearl's a Singer" had been introduced by the duo Dino and Sembello – also the song's co-writers – on their 1974 self-titled album which Leiber and Stoller had produced.[1]
| "Pearl's a Singer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Elkie Brooks | ||||
| from the album Two Days Away | ||||
| B-side | "You Did Something for Me" | |||
| Released | 25 February 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Genre | Blues rock, soft rock | |||
| Length | 3:39 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriters | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Ralph Dino, John Sembello | |||
| Producers | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | |||
| Elkie Brooks singles chronology | ||||
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The song is a ballad, telling the story of a failed singer who still dreams of the success she might have had.
History
Brooks would recall that at a rehearsal session for her Two Days Away album "Jerry Leiber [said]: 'I want to play you this song, I don't think you're going to like it, it's too countryish for you but I'll play it for you anyway.'...I said: 'Go on, I've got an open mind, I like a lot of country [music].' I listened to 'Pearl's a Singer' and told [Leiber & Stoller] I liked it but that they needed to [modify it with] a middle section. To which Jerry said: 'No problem'. And with that he disappeared and came back half an hour later with the [modified] version of 'Pearl's a Singer'" which Brooks recorded.[2] Brooks - "To be honest [in the mid-1970s] I just wanted to enjoy myself in music and I never thought 'Pearl...' was going to be a big hit but [after] it was released on my birthday in 1977 the record company really pushed it, [it] got played on all the radio stations and became very successful. No one was more surprised than me."[3]
Chart performance
"Pearl's a Singer" afforded Elkie Brooks her debut chart single – thirteen years after she'd recorded her first track – reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in spring 1977. It remained her highest placing in that chart until "No More the Fool" reached No. 5, in early 1987.
Personnel
- Elkie Brooks – vocals
- Isaac Guillory – guitars
- Jean Roussel – keyboards
- Trevor Morais – drums
- Steve York – bass
Additional personnel
- Mike Stoller – keyboards
- Eric Weissberg – guitars
- George Devens – percussion
- Muscle Shoals Horns
- Harrison Calloway (arranger)
- Charlie Rose
- Harvey Thompson
- Ronnie Eades
- Meco Monardo (arranger), Tony Posk, Guy Lumia, Elliot Rosoff, Rick Sortonne, Carol Webb, Joe Goodman, Julien Barber, Jesse Levy – strings
- Carl Hall, Peggy Blue, Marry Ellen Johnson – backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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