Pearl's a Singer

"Pearl's a Singer" is a song made famous by the British 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.

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. 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."

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