OC Smith

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Ocie Lee Smith (born June 21, 1932 in Mansfield , Louisiana - † November 23, 2001 in Los Angeles , California ), known as OC Smith , was an American musician . His recording of Little Green Apples peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 and sold over a million copies.

biography

Born in Mansfield, Louisiana, Smith moved his parents to Little Rock , Arkansas , and after his parents divorced his mother to Los Angeles . After completing his psychology studies at Southern University Smith joined the United States Air Force at and served in Europe and Asia . While in the Air Force, Smith participated in talent competitions and toured with Horace Heidt . After his release in July 1955, Smith was active as a jazz musician to make money.

Smith made his breakthrough as a singer with Sy Oliver , performing with Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. His success on that show resulted in a 1955 recording deal with Cadence Records , which unsuccessful his 1956 debut Slow Walk / Forbidden Fruit and three other Cadence singles.

Smith was also in demand elsewhere as a singer and was featured on Art Mooney's MGM cover version of Little Richard's hit Tutti Frutti . The release was unsuccessful, but convinced MGM Records to give Smith a solo contract, which led to three more releases that were also unsuccessful.

In 1961, Smith was hired by Count Basie as a singer, a position he held until 1965. He also continued to record with various record labels. By 1968, Smith's then-label Columbia Records was ready to release him from his recording contract when he first hit the charts with The Son on "Hickory Holler's Tramp", peaked at # 2 on the UK Singles Chart and also top 40 in reached the United States . 1976 coverte Kenny Rogers the hit as a country song . Smith changed the first part of his name to OC The Recording while recording the song Little Green Apples written by Bobby Russell , which reached # 2 on the Hot 100 on October 26, 1968 and won Russell the 1969 Grammy Award for Song of the Year received RIAA certification for the sale of musical records (Gold Record) for the sale of one million records.

With Daddy's Little Man and Friend he reached the R&B , Adult Contemporary and Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts in his home country. In 1977 he returned to the UK Singles Chart with Together and achieved a top 30 placement. After CBS, Smith teamed up with Charles Wallert, who wrote and produced the title track and album for Dreams Come True . The Whatcha Gonna Do album resulted in a total of 40 weeks in three singles chartered nationwide. This album included Brenda , You're My First, My Last, My Everything, and Spark Of Love . Additional hits The Best Out Of Me and After All Is Said And Done established Smith as a beach music star . Smith was nominated for six awards and won five at the third Beach Music Awards.

Smith was a pastor and founder of the City Of Angels Church in Los Angeles, California, where he served for 16 years. One of his most recent recordings, Save The Last Dance For Me , reached first place on the Rhythm n 'Beach Top 40 chart.

On November 23, 2001, Smith died of a heart attack in Los Angeles.

Afterlife

Shortly after his death, on June 21, 2002, Governor Jim Hodges proclaimed "OC Smith Day" in the state of South Carolina . Smith was posthumously elected to the Beach Music Hall of Fame in November 2002.

His book Little Green Apples: God Really Did Make Them , which he co-wrote with James Shaw, was published posthumously in 2003.

Discography

Singles
Year single Peak chart positions
US US
R&B 		US
AC 		UK CAN Country OUT
1967 " That's Life " 127 - - - - -
1968 " The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp " 40 32 - 2 4th 3
"Main Street Mission" 105 - - - - -
" Little Green Apples " 2 2 4th - - 35
"Isn't It Lonely Together" 63 40 - - - 62
1969 " Honey (I Miss You) " 44 44 19th - - -
"Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife" 47 25th 17th - - 25th
"Daddy's Little Man" 34 9 6th - - -
"Me and You" 103 38 - - - -
1970 "Moody" 114 - 38 - - -
"Primrose Lane" 86 - 4th - - 53
" Baby, I Need Your Loving " 52 30th 21st - - 82
1971 " Help Me Make It Through the Night " 91 38 - - - -
1972 "Don't Misunderstand" 102 - - - - -
1974 " La La Peace Song " 62 - 36 - - -
1976 "Together" - 62 14th 25th - -
1978 "Love to Burn" - 34 29 - - -
1982 "Love Changes" - 68 - - - -
1986 "What'cha Gonna Do" - 53 - - - -
" You're the First, the Last, My Everything " - 52 - - - -
1987 "Brenda" - 58 - - - -

Albums
  • 1966 The Dynamic OC Smith
  • 1968 Hickory Holler Revisited
  • 1969 OC Smith at Home
  • 1969 For Once in My Life
  • 1971 Help Me Make It through the Night
  • 1974 La La Peace Song
  • 1977 Together
  • 1979 Love Is Forever
  • 1980 Dreams Come True
  • 1982 Love Changes
  • 1993 After All Is Said and Done
  • 2000 I Give My Heart to You
  • 2000 Beach Music Classics and Love Songs

Filmography

  • 2009 OC Smith: How Sweet It Is

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Joseph Murrells: The Book of Golden Discs . 2nd Edition. Barrie and Jenkins Ltd, London 1978, ISBN 0-214-20512-6 , pp. 248 (English, page 248 Registration required [accessed June 11, 2020]).
  2. ↑ Cadence Singles / EP Discography (1953-1964) . Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Art Mooney & His Orch. * - Vocal: Ocie Smith * - Tutti Frutti . Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. ^ A b c David Roberts: British Hit Singles & Albums , 19th. Edition, Guinness World Records Limited, London 2006, ISBN 1-904994-10-5 , p. 509.
  5. ↑ Doc Rock: The Dead Rock Stars Club 2001 . Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  6. ^ OC Smith, 65, Singer-Minister Who Had a Grammy Award Hit . In: The New York Times , November 27, 2001. Retrieved August 24, 2015. 
  7. ↑ City of Angels | Bio OC Smith . Cityofangelschurchrs.com. June 21, 2002. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Ocie Lee (OC) Smith Jr. (1936 to 2001) . Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  9. ^ OC Smith | Awards . AllMusic . June 21, 1932. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Smith, OC
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Ocie Lee
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz singer
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Mansfield , Louisiana
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 2001
Place of death Los Angeles , California