Shelley with Joe Brooks in a publicity pic for If Ever I See You Again, 1978
Shelley's first leading lady role was as Jennifer Corly in the 1978 film If Ever I See You Again - starred, written and directed by Joe Brooks. The film was a sort of follow up to the 1977 smash You Light Up My Life which was also written and directed by Brooks. Both films were panned by critics, but both also produced number one hits with their original theme songs (composed by Brooks). Debbie Boone's version of "You Light Up My Life" held the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977. Roberta Flack's version of "If Ever I See You Again" hit #1 on Billboard magazine's Easy Listening chart and stayed there for three weeks in July of 1978.
