Pearl's A Singer

This song was co-written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller with Ralph Dino and John Sembello, who first recorded it as Dino & Sembello in 1974. The song can be seen as a lament by a woman who hasn't fallen quite as far as Mark Knopfler's later private dancer, and nowhere near as far as the unfortunate wretch in Al Stewart's earlier "Old Compton Street Blues." Leiber and Stoller produced the self-titled Dino & Sembello album that included this song. When they got the opportunity to produce the British singer Elkie Brooks, best known at the time as frontwoman for the group Vinegar Joe, they revived the song with her. They produced her albums Two Days Away (1977) and Live and Learn (1979) and also her follow-up hit, "Sunshine After The Rain," which made UK #10 a few months later. With "Pearl," Leiber and Stoller re-wrote the song for Brooks, changing the lyrics to make it more appropriate for a female singer and adding a new piece of music for the bridge.

This was the choice as both a single and an album track by Elkie Brooks for her second solo release, Two Days Away. The single was backed by another Leiber/Stoller song, "You Did Something For Me," and was Brooks' first hit. The original Dino & Sembello version was backed by "The Best Thing", which it certainly is not. The song is about a female nightclub singer, but not specifically Janis Joplin, whose nickname was "Pearl."

Elkie Brooks shared the story of recording "Pearl's A Singer" with Mojo magazine, taking readers back to 1976 when she was in AIR Studios, London. She recalled: "I was working on my second LP, Two Days Away, with producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. We were hunting for songs, and Jerry said he had one for me to hear. He knew I loved blues and jazz, so he wasn't sure I'd go for it since it leaned more toward country. But he also knew I had an open mind and already liked some country music, so he gave it a shot." Leiber played her "Pearl's A Singer," written by Ralph Dino and John Sembello. "They were American songwriters and singers who had already written for the Lovin' Spoonful, The Turtles, and Tim Hardin," Brooks explained. "As soon as I heard it, I got it," Brooks continued. "The story grabbed me right away: 'She sings songs for the lost and lonely.. all those dreams that never came true.' I love songs with stories. Growing up, I listened to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Dakota Staton - all storytellers in their own way. So, we recorded it, and I put my bluesy stamp on it."