Stella Brooks
Stella Brooks (born November 24, 1915 in Seattle , † December 13, 2002 in San Francisco ) was an American jazz singer.
Life
Stella Brooks grew up in San Francisco and began a career as a singer there in the 1930s. In 1937 she went to New York; it was there that her most famous recordings were made. a. was accompanied by Sidney Bechet , Frank Newton , George Brunies , George Wettling and Joe Sullivan . Her most successful song was "(I'm) A Little Piece of Leather"; other well-known titles of this time were "As Long as I Live, I'll Never Be the Same" and "Ballin 'the Jack". They appeared on their album Songs of the 1940s . Then she went back to San Francisco and fought with short film appearances (including as a double for Elizabeth Taylor) and as a hairdresser.
In her unconventional style, she considered herself more of a diseuse than a singer. It was also known as the “white Billie Holiday” in the 1940s. According to the Jazzzeitung (11/2003) she was the only white singer for Billie Holiday : "I like to listen to myself."
Selection discography
- Stella Brooks, Greta Keller : Diverse Songs and Moods of the 1940s . Folkways Records, New York 1981 (the original recordings were initiated by Moses Asch ).
Web links
- Kelly St. John: Obituary . In: San Francisco Chronicle, December 22, 2002.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brooks, Stella |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 24, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Seattle |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 2002 |
| Place of death | San Francisco |