Shelton Brooks
Shelton Brooks, a Black music composer, was born on this date in 1886.
Born in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, at about 15 in 1901, he and his family moved to Detroit. Brooks sang, played the piano, and performed in vaudeville and musical comedies. In the 1930s, he had a songwriting career and a radio show on the Michigan CBS network.
Brooks wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century. His compositions included "All Night Long," "At the Darktown Strutters' Ball," "Every Day," "Some of These Days," "Somewhere in France," "Swing That Thing," "That Man of Mine," "There'll Come A Time," and "Walkin' The Dog." Shelton Brooks died on September 6, 1975.
