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| May 4, 1886 | Born in Amherstburg, Ontario | |
| 1901 | Family moved to Detroit | |
| 1905-06 | Moved to Chicago, played clubs & theatres, known as a Bert Williams style of performer in vaudeville | |
| 1909 | Published Bert Williams type of song "You Ain't Talking To Me." | |
| 1910 | Published Some Of These Days | |
| 1910 | It's Awf'ly Hard To Say Good-bye have a picture from cover | |
| 1911 | Published "Cosey Rag, The" | |
| 1911 | Published "There'll Come A Time" | |
| 1911 | Appeared in first musical comedy, "Dr. Herb's Prescription, or It Happened in a Dream." which was performed at Chicago's Pekin Theater, the comedy was produced by its star, Jesse Shipp,. | |
| 1911 | Appeared in "The Lime Kiln" at the Pekin Theater? | |
| 1911? | Traveled as a trap drummer with Danny Small's Hot Harlem Band for several months. | |
| 1912 | Published "All Night Long" | |
| 1912 | Published "Oh! You Georgia Rose" | |
| 1913 | Published "I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone" | |
| 1914 | Published "Rufe Johnson's Harmony Band" | |
| 1915 | Published "You Can't Mend A Broken Heart" | |
| 1915? | Led a large syncopated orchestra in Chicago's Grand Theater | |
| 1916 | Published "Walkin' The Dog" | |
| 1916 | Published "Walkin' The Dog Fox Trot" | |
| 1917 | Published "The Darktown Strutter's Ball" | |
| 1918? | Hi song "I Want To Shimmy" was performed in Midnight Frolics | |
| 1918 | Published "Ev'ry Day" | |
| Nov. 1, 1918 | Untitled - Columbia Test Recording | |
| 1919 | Published "Jean" | |
| 1919 | Published "Tell Me Why You Want To Go To Paree" | |
| Aug. - Oct 1920 | Contributed songs and performed in three musicals for the Panama Amusement Co. in Chicago. All were revivals of white shows that were rewritten for black audiences. He was leading man in all three. He played opposite Alberta Hunter. Also appearing were Ollie Powers, Marguerite Lee, and Evelyn Preer. Hunter's book says Brooks created the theater group. | |
| Aug. 23, 1920 | "Canary Cottage" opens for 2 week engagement at the Avenue Theater at 31st & Indiana. | |
| Sept. 6, 1920 | "Miss Nobody From Starland " opens at the Avenue Theater | |
| Sept. 19, 1920 | "September Morn." opens and runs until Oct. 2nd at the Avenue Theater. | |
| Oct. 4, 1920 | "Canary Cottage" opens at Lafayette Theater in Harlem | |
| Oct. 18, 1920 | "Canary Cottage" opens in Philadelphia, Maude Russell takes over female lead. | |
| May 1921 | Lost Your Mind OKeh 4340 | |
| May 1921 | Darktown Court Room - OKeh 4426 | |
| May 1921 | Murder in the First Degree - OKeh 4340 | |
| 1922 | Moves to New York - may have moved in 21 | |
| July 1922 | First try-out for Lew Leslie's "Plantation Revue" was a two week run in Harlem, at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem with Shelton as MC. The expanded show had a number of extra acts to build up the height and Shelton Brooks was one of these. He was a huge success. Jackson's page in Billboard reported (July 8, 1922) "Shelton Brooks, the comedian and composer, opened to a reception and his fifteen minutes was stretched to twenty in response to encores." (BE) | |
| July 17, 1922 | "Plantation Revue" opens on Broadway at the 48th St. Theater. The generally staid New York Times said (July 18, '22): "Shelton Brooks, who acts as a master of ceremonies, [proves] himself an exceptionally agreeable and versatile person to have around. He has a cheerful line of talk, gets it over well, and in his own acts delivers several songs that catch on imediately. "Oh, is she dumb" and 'Unexpectedly" seemed to be his longest hits last night. They and the others, are presumably of his own composition." (BE) | |
| August 1922 | The Chicken Thieves - OKeh 4682 | |
| August 1922 | Collecting Rents - OKeh 4682 | |
| Sept. 1922 | Back-Biting - Okeh 4776 | |
| November 1922 | Shelton stayed with Plantation Revue throughout 1922, including as part of a completely new version which opened at the Winter Garden. (BE) | |
| 1923 | appeared in play "K of P" | |
| Jan.17, 1923 | Not Tonight - OKeh 4776 | |
| Feb. 1923 | The Family Quarrel OKeh 4798 | |
| Feb. 1923 | The Third Degree | |
| March 1923 | When the Dixie Sun Goes Down - OKeh 4823 | |
| March 1923 | It Takes Money To Cure My Blues | |
| April 1923 | Vocal Duets with Sara Martin, acc. by own piano I Got What It Takes To Bring You Back - OKeh 8062 Original Blues - OKeh 8062 |
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| May 1923 | Following a farewell stint back at the Lafayette, the Plantation Revue as part of Leslie's "Dover Street to Dixie" travels to Britain | |
| May 13, 1923 | Miss Florence Mills, Mr. Will Vodery, Mr. Shelton Brooks, Mr. James P. Johnson and members of the West Indian cricket team were honored in England by a black social club called "The Coterie of Friends." | |
| Sept. 1923 | Plantation Revue comes back to the United States | |
| November 1923 | The New Darktown Judge - OKeh 4996 | |
| November 1923 | Then I'll Go In That Lion's Den | |
| Aug 1924 | Performed in Lew Leslie's Dixie to Broadway which was reworked show that had been in Britain. Shelton Brooks was with Florence Mills throughout (from Sept. `23 - Aug `24) this time. They did an out of town series in New Jersey and Chicago before opening in New York in late October. The New York reviewers, including such hardened professionals as Alexander Woollcott and Percy Hammond were highly enthusiastic. A columnist for Opportunity referred to Shelton Brooks as "Perhaps the most keenly intelligent and one of the best Negro comedians living." (Opportunity, Nov 1924). | |
| May 1924 | The Old Veterans & Buddies OKeh 40137 | |
| Oct. 1924 | Dixie to Broadway opens in New York | |
| Nov. 5, 1924 | You Got To Go & That's Enough - OKeh 40232 | |
| mid Dec. 1924 | Shelton Brooks leaves "Dixie to Broadway", on the grounds that "salary paid was insufficient. It is probable that the former co-star will head a show off to the T.O B.A. with a musical comedy now in preparation by a New York theatrical office." (Baltimore Afro-American, 12/20/1924). | |
| Jan 1925 | Pot of Gold & You'll Be A Cousin Shy OKeh 40274 | |
| Feb.1925 | Barbershop Four - OKeh 40334 | |
| Feb. 17, 1925 | Played piano on Ethel Waters recordings "After All These Years" &"Throw Dirt In Your Face" | |
| March 1925 | Lodge Meeting - OKeh 40334 | |
| April 1925(?) | Spiritualism & Work Don't Bother Me OKeh 40385 | |
| Dec. 10, 1925 | The New Professor & Jail Birds - OKeh 40528 | |
| 1926 | Performs in "Blackbirds of 1926" which opens at the Alhambra Theare in Harlem. | |
| March 1926 | The Fortune Teller - OKeh 40605 Domestic Troubles | |
| Sept. 23, 1926 | When You're Really Blue - OKeh 40697, Par R-3259 You Sure Are One Sick Man |
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| Jun. 15, 1928 | Hard Times - Okeh rejected Last Night |
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| 1928 | Produced and performed in "Nifties of 1928" | |
| 1929 | Made a short film comedy with Hamtree Harrington for Vitaphone called "Gayety" | |
| 1929 | Granted membership in ASCAP. | |
| 1930 | Had twice a week radio show with Bird Allen on CBS called "Egg and Shell." | |
| 1930 | Wrote "Don't Leave Your Little Blackbird Blue" for "Brown Buddies" which he had a small role in." | |
| 1930 | Worked in vaudeville as a singer | |
| 1939 | Had a supporting role and wrote two songs for film, "Double Deal."
Monte Hawley, Jeni Le Gon, Shelton Brooks, F.E. Miller, Monte Hawley and Jeni Le Gon highlight an all-star cast in this dramatic musical about rival gangs fighting the power. The legendary composer Shelton Brooks created two hit songs for the movie and the choreography for some of the dance routines is absolutely stupendous. |
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| 194? | Moved to Los Angeles | |
| Sept. 24, 1940 | A concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ASCAP and the closing of the San Francisco and New York World's Fairs, Shelton honored | |
| 1942 | Appeared at Apollo Theatre | |
| 1949 | Was a mainstay in Ken Murray's "Blackouts" for 7 years in Los Angeles though only played 7 weeks in New York | |
| 1965- 1975 | Headlined Ragtime concert at Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles along with Joe Jordan & Eubie Blake | |
| 1965- 1975 | Appeared on Johnny Carson's "Sun City Scandals with Ethel Waters | |
| Sept. 6, 1975 | Dies Los Angeles and buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park. A 13 piece band played a slow version of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" and then broke into spirited versions of "Some of These Days" and "Darktown Strutters Ball." |
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