Eléni (Lane Brody) Autographed CD

Lane Brody has been an active songwriter since 1982, and has been nominated for an Oscar (1984, for Over You) and an Emmy (the theme song to The Yellow Rose, which she co-wrote and sang with Johnny Lee and became a #1 country hit).

She had started single jingles in tons of radio TV ads, for brands such as McDonald's, 7Up, Juicy Fruit, and Beatrice Foods for their 1984 Olympics run (''You've known us all along!''), and made her way back to TV by guest-starring in Taxi, then in Heart Of The City.

I corresponded with her briefly before and at the turn of the millennium, and she was kind enough to send me autographed items once in a while. I came across this promo-version of her self-released 2001 album Familiar Places (through her self-owned label Records Records) while unpacking today; the album's original artwork was this:

She released that album under the name Eléni, which is the Greek root for the names Helen, Ellen, Elaine, and Lynn. The album mentions it was her given (birth) name, but her Wikipedia page instead says she came into this world as Lynn Voorlas, and is also known as Lynn Nilles. Then again, she always has been rather mysterious.

Another thing she always has been is an amazing musical talent with a rich voice. She transcends styles, though she has kind of gone back to country after flirts with jazz, traditional pop and Big Band-type songs. I expect a couple more quality releases from her in the future.