Alma Faye Brooks is an American-born Canadian disco singer.B. Derek Johnson, "Springtime in Rexdale with drive-in music If Dante were into disco, he would have designed Spats". The Globe and Mail, April 26, 1978. She is most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Best New Female Vocalist, receiving nods at the Juno Awards of 1978"The Junos: Hill and Cummings the frontrunners". The Globe and Mail, March 23, 1978. and the Juno Awards of 1980."Nominations announced for Juno Awards". Montreal Gazette, February 29, 1980.
Born in Tyler, Texas, she moved to Montreal, Quebec, at age 12 with her family.Katherine MacDonald, "Disco's Brooks a happy woman". Montreal Gazette, February 5, 1979. Living in the Little Burgundy neighbourhood, she sang at the Union United Church, and had a musical theatre role in a production of Hair."Soul diva Alma Faye Brooks rekindles Montreal's disco inferno". Montreal Gazette, February 17, 2012.
In 1977 she released her debut single "Stop, I Don't Need No Sympathy", a cover of a song previously performed by Lynn Roman.Tom Moulton, "Disco Mix". Billboard, June 11, 1977.
In 1979 she released the album Doin' It, which spawned the singles "It's Over" and "Don't Fall In Love". Her performances to support the album included an appearance on Whatever Turns You On, a short-lived prime-time version of the long-running sketch comedy/variety series You Can't Do That on Television. However, with the disco genre in commercial decline around this time, she did not release another album, and reemerged in the late 1980s in Montreal's local live music scene, performing Motown music by artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Supremes at "Soul Unlimited" events at the Rising Sun club.
She has continued to perform as a singer with La Gioventu, a dance music band in Montreal led by her husband, Louis Toteda.Gary George, "Word of mouth can be music to your ears". The Globe and Mail, January 28, 2010. Following the death of disco icon Donna Summer in 2012, she began performing Donna Summer songs with La Gioventu in tribute."Casablanca Records diva Alma Faye Brooks pays tribute to Donna Summer at Disco Inferno". Montreal Gazette, July 4, 2013.
Her song "Thank You", from Doin' It, was used in the soundtrack to the 2023 film Solo.Charles-Henri Ramond, "Solo – Film de Sophie Dupuis". Films du Québec, September 10, 2023.
References