Smith (band)
Encyclopedia
Smith were an American
rock
band
, formed in Los Angeles
, California
in 1969. They had a blues
based sound and had a Top 5 hit
in 1969 with a cover of the song "Baby It's You", with the lead vocals
sung
by Gayle McCormick
. This disc
, released in July 1969 had, by October, sold over one million copies, and received a gold record
awarded by the R.I.A.A.
in a nightclub
in Los Angeles. McCormick had started her career singing songs by Tina Turner
, Etta James
and others of that ilk. Shannon arranged
"Baby It's You" for the group and got them signed to the ABC-Dunhill Records label
. Smith released an album
titled, A Group Called Smith, which spent 11 weeks in the Top 40 album
listings of the since-called Billboard 200
record chart
. On the album, vocals were split amongst Rich Cliburn, Jerry Carter and McCormick. Smith recorded a second album titled Minus-Plus with lesser success. Smith's version of "The Weight
" was included on the epochal Easy Rider soundtrack
because The Band
's version, which appeared in the movie
, was not available for contractual reasons. Most of their material consisted of covers of popular rock and R&B
tunes.
The band broke up after a couple of albums, although their singles "What Am I Gonna Do" (co-written by Carole King
) and "Take a Look Around" made the middle of the charts. The band's hit "Baby It's You" was also featured in Quentin Tarantino
's Grindhouse film, Death Proof
.
albums, Gayle McCormick, Flesh And Blood and One More Hour after the group disbanded. "It's A Cryin' Shame" was a minor hit for her from the first of these, reaching #44 on the charts in 1971.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1969. They had a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
based sound and had a Top 5 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in 1969 with a cover of the song "Baby It's You", with the lead vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
sung
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
by Gayle McCormick
Gayle McCormick
Gayle McCormick was born in St. Louis in 1949 and her recording and performing career stretched from 1965 to 1976. McCormick had started her career singing songs by Tina Turner and Etta James.-Smith:...
. This disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, released in July 1969 had, by October, sold over one million copies, and received a gold record
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
awarded by the R.I.A.A.
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
History
Smith were discovered by 1960s rocker Del ShannonDel Shannon
Del Shannon was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.- Biography :...
in a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in Los Angeles. McCormick had started her career singing songs by Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
and others of that ilk. Shannon arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
"Baby It's You" for the group and got them signed to the ABC-Dunhill Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Smith released an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
titled, A Group Called Smith, which spent 11 weeks in the Top 40 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
listings of the since-called Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
record chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. On the album, vocals were split amongst Rich Cliburn, Jerry Carter and McCormick. Smith recorded a second album titled Minus-Plus with lesser success. Smith's version of "The Weight
The Weight
"The Weight" is a song written by Robbie Robertson. It was released by The Band as Capitol Records single 2269 in 1968, and appeared one week later on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink. The song is listed as #41 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004, and...
" was included on the epochal Easy Rider soundtrack
Easy Rider Soundtrack
Easy Rider is the soundtrack to the cult classic 1969 film Easy Rider, a film often remembered for its epic late 1960s rock music. The album was released by ABC-Dunhill Records in August 1969 Easy Rider is the soundtrack to the cult classic 1969 film Easy Rider, a film often remembered for its...
because The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
's version, which appeared in the movie
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
, was not available for contractual reasons. Most of their material consisted of covers of popular rock and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
tunes.
The band broke up after a couple of albums, although their singles "What Am I Gonna Do" (co-written by Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
) and "Take a Look Around" made the middle of the charts. The band's hit "Baby It's You" was also featured in Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's Grindhouse film, Death Proof
Death Proof
Death Proof is a 2007 American action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women before murdering them in staged car accidents using his "death-proof" stunt car...
.
Solo career
McCormick went on to record three soloSolo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
albums, Gayle McCormick, Flesh And Blood and One More Hour after the group disbanded. "It's A Cryin' Shame" was a minor hit for her from the first of these, reaching #44 on the charts in 1971.
Personnel
Smith were a quintet of one woman and four men:- Gayle McCormickGayle McCormickGayle McCormick was born in St. Louis in 1949 and her recording and performing career stretched from 1965 to 1976. McCormick had started her career singing songs by Tina Turner and Etta James.-Smith:...
– lead vocals - Larry Moss – organElectric organIn biology, the electric organ is an organ common to all electric fish used for the purposes of creating an electric field. The electric organ is derived from modified nerve or muscle tissue...
and kazooKazooThe kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by... - Jerry Carter – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Robert Evans – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Rich Cliburn – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
External links
- [ Allmusic.com biography]