Mira Ann Smith (or often credited as Myra Smith; October 22, 1924 – August 29, 1989) was an American songwriter, music industry pioneer, record label owner, studio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. In 1955, she founded Royal Audio Music, Inc. (a.k.a. Ram Records) and became one of the first women to own her own record company. Her success led some in the music business to dub her “the female Sam Phillips." Smith is most well known for the songs she wrote with singer/songwriter, Margaret Lewis (Warwick), many of which charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top 10. Smith and Lewis found their greatest songwriting success with singer,

Jeannie C. Riley Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson; October 19, 1945) is an American country music and gospel music, gospel singing, singer. She is best known for her 1968 country music, country and pop music, pop hit "Harper Valley PTA", which mi ...

, and wrote many of her songs including, “ The Girl Most Likely”, “Oh Singer”, “The Rib” and “There Never Was a Time.” In addition, Smith and Lewis wrote hit songs for artists such as David Houston ("Mountain of Love"),

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

("I Almost Called Your Name"), and

Peggy Scott Peggy Scott-Adams (born Peggy Stoutmeyer, June 25, 1948) is an American blues and R&B singer. She is sometimes known by her former name of Peggy Scott, and billed as "The Little Lady with the Big Voice". Early life and career Peggy Stoutmeyer ...

and

Jo Jo Benson Joseph M. Hewell (April 15, 1938 – December 23, 2014) was an American R&B and soul singer better known under his stage name Jo Jo Benson. He was best known for his recordings in the late 1960s with Peggy Scott. Life and career He was born i ...

("Soulshake"). Four artists charted on Billboard with the Smith and Lewis song “

Reconsider Me "Reconsider Me" is a country/soul ballad written by Margaret Lewis and Mira Smith. Johnny Adams recording Johnny Adams's 1969 version was his biggest hit, peaking at number eight on the American R&B charts and number 28 on the pop charts. ...

”: Johnny Adams (1969), Ray Pillow (1969), John Wesly Ryles (1971) and Narvel Felts (1975). Smith received six outstanding achievement awards from the Broadcast Music Industry ( BMI). In 1988, she was inducted into the Southern Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 1995 Smith was the first woman inducted into the Women in Music Hall of Fame.

Early life and influences

Smith was born in 1926 in Alexandria, Louisiana to parents George W. Smith and Beulah Martin Smith. Her mother was a seamstress for The Fashion, Inc., a women's clothing company. She grew up attending the local Baptist church. Smith had two older sisters, Kathleen and Birdie Lee and from an early age, all three were encouraged to play music. Her parents saved their money and bought Smith an expensive

Martin guitar C.F. Martin & Company (often referred to as Martin) is an American guitar manufacturer established in 1833, by Christian Frederick Martin. It is highly respected for its acoustic guitars and is a leading manufacturer of flat top guitars. The ...

on which she quickly became proficient.Topping, Ray. Sleeve notes to Shreveport Stomp: Ram Records Volume 1, Ace Records, 1994. In 1955, Smith was elected president of the newly organized Song Writers Club of

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

, which was founded to give young writers the opportunity to introduce their work to the public. The club started with 6 members. Smith was greatly inspired by

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

, both by his guitar playing and his innovations with multi-track studio recording. When the first

Les Paul guitar The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typ ...

came on the market, she “had to have” one.

Louisiana Hayride

Smith was a fan and later performed on the '' Louisiana Hayride'', a live radio show recorded from the city auditorium in Shreveport and broadcast on station KWKH. Smith began to notice many Hayride artists were being offered recording contracts and others were looking for a place to record their music. Smith recognized the opportunity to open her own recording studio.

Royal Audio Music, Ram Recording Co.

In 1955, when Smith was 29, she acquired the building located at 2439 Lakeshore Drive in Shreveport and turned it into Royal Audio Recording studio. She purchased a single track crown tape recorder, a Neumann U47 microphone, and a Rek-O-Kut acetate disc cutter. Her cousin, Alton Warwick, worked on the carpentry and attached egg crates to the walls as a soundproofing measure. To publicize her new recording services, she placed ads in the local papers and in ''Billboard'' magazine.

RAM Records

In 1955, a short time after opening the studio, Smith started her own record label, Ram Records. Smith discovered RCA made quality custom pressings for Indie labels and began to use their services. Smith scoured most of Louisiana and east Texas, crossing racial and genre boundaries in her search for talented artists. She recorded musicians performing Country, Rockabilly,

Swamp Pop Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and western ...

, and R&B. Ram recording artists included Linda Brannon, Margaret Lewis, Roy “Boogie Boy” Perkins, The Lonesome Drifter, Bobby Page and the Riff Raffs, Endom Spires, June Bug Bailey, Sonny (“Golden Boy”) Williamson II, Carol Williams, Larry Bamburg, James Heubert Wilson, Charlotte Ray Hunter, and many others. Smith utilized the talents of some of the best musicians in Shreveport, many of whom went on to sign contracts with major labels and become highly respected musicians, including James Burton

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018 Dale Hawkins, and Jerry Kennedy.

Clif Records

In 1957 Smith partnered with Cliff Hagin and they added Clif Records as a subsidiary record label. Clif Records' first success was with T.V. Slim (Oscar Wills) and his song “Flat Foot Sam” (Clif #103) written by his wife, Clara Wills. When it was reviewed by Billboard on July 7, 1957, the magazine gave it a 65 or less rating. However, Slim had connections with Leonard Chess and was able to get

Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded ...

to distribute the song across the nation. Under the Checker Records label (#870), Billboard gave the song a 77 rating. In 2005, Brian Setzer recorded a cover of "Flat Foot Sam" for his album ''Rockabilly Riot! Live From the Planet''. Chico Chism & His Jetanairs also released “Hot Tamales and Bar-B-Que” on the Clif Label.

K Label

K Label was another Ram subsidiary record label named after Smith's sister, Katherine. The Lonesome Drifter (Thomas Johnson) and his 1958 single “Eager Boy”/ “Tear Drop Valley” (K-Records #5812) is considered one of the more significant recordings from this label.

Studio struggles

As a woman in almost completely male industry, Smith often found it difficult to find distribution and promotion services. Her cousin, Alton Warwick, was quoted in 1994 as saying, “(Being a woman) did handicap her, as far as people taking her seriously with things like financing. If she had better funding for distribution and promotion, she could’ve made some of her records really go.” Due to her tight budget, she was only able to promote a few singles each year and was often forced to leave quality songs unreleased. Many of Ram's recordings were forgotten and unreleased for decades. In 1960, Smith opened a new studio on Greenwood Drive, which included a built-in echo unit and separate vocal booths.Topping, Ray. Sleeve of Lonesome Bluebird album. Ace Records. 1994. On August 27, 1960 the Louisiana Hayride performed its last show. Rock and Roll was growing in popularity and the Shreveport music scene was slowing and changing. As a result, the studio began to struggle. Within a few years, Smith closed her studio and moved to Nashville, Tennessee along with many other Shreveport musicians.

Ram Records catalog release

In 1994, London-based Ace Records, a British reissue label which specializes in American Roots music, released a 6-CD box set which included many previously unreleased songs from the Ram Catalog. Ray Topping, a London native, assembled the collection. He learned about Ram Records in 1969 when he purchased the song “Drop Top” by Roy “Boogie Boy” Perkins. The Ace release received many mentions in the press, including ''Billboard'' magazine. NPR’s Alex Chadwick ran a series of interviews about the Ram Records legacy during September and October of 1994.

Songwriting success

In the early 1960s, Smith teamed up with Margaret Lewis to create a songwriting and publishing partnership. Their first success was a hit for David Houston, “Mountain of Love” (1963) which reached #2 on the US Country charts and #132 on the US Charts. In 1966, Smith and Lewis moved their studio to Nashville. They joined the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

and signed a contract with record producer Shelby Singleton’s SSS International Corporation. During an interview with a journalist, Smith and Lewis commented that when looking for songwriting inspiration, they would often go camping in the woods. The pair composed more than 100 songs. In 1966, they wrote a hit song for Margaret Whiting, “I Almost Called Your Name” (1966, London #115) which spent 16 weeks on the Billboard charts and peaked at #4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. Several other artists also recorded "I Almost Called Your Name" including

Linda Martell Linda Martell (born Thelma Bynem; June 4, 1941) is an American singer. She became the first commercially successful black female artist in the country music field and the first to play the ''Grand Ole Opry.'' As one of the first African-American ...

(Plantation Records, 1970) and Freddy Fender (ABC Dot 1974). In 1968 Smith and Lewis wrote four of the songs on Jeannie C. Riley's album, ''Yearbooks and Yesterday'' (Cat# PLP-2) which peaked at #9 on the 1969 Billboard Hot Country Albums and included their songs “ Girl Most Likely” (# 6 on Hot Country Songs, # 55 US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

), and “Yearbooks and Yesterdays” (#187 on the Billboard 200). In 1969, Riley recorded the Smith and Lewis songs “There Never Was a Time” (#5 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

), “The Rib” (#32 on Hot Country songs), “Things Go Better With Love” (#142 on Billboard 200), and “Wedding Cake” for her album ''Things Go Better With Love''. (

Plantation Records Plantation Records was a country music record label of the 1960s and 1970s helmed by Shelby Singleton. The label is best known for Jeannie C. Riley's 1968 hit "Harper Valley PTA", which topped both the country and ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts. ...

, #PLP-3). "Wedding Cake" was also recorded by Connie Francis, (MGM, 1969), Connie Smith (RCA Victor, 1969), and Linda Martell (Plantation Records, 1970). Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner also recorded a duet of, "There Never Was A Time" for their RCA Records album, "

Always, Always ''Always, Always'' is the third collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on June 30, 1969, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Top Country Al ...

" (1969) On March 15, 1969, “There Never Was a Time” was included in the Billboard Top 60 Spotlight. Riley's hit songs, “Oh Singer” (#4 on the Hot Country Songs, #74 on US Hot 100) and “Country Girl” (#7 on Hot Country, #106 Billboard 200), were also written by Smith and Lewis. In 1969, Smith and Lewis’ song “Reconsider Me” became a hit for R&B singer Johnny Adams. His rendition peaked at #8 on the Billboard

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also in 1969, the song was a hit for Country artist Ray Pillow and peaked at #38 on the Billboard Country Charts. In 1971, “Reconsider Me” was the title track of John Wesly Ryles' Plantation Records album, hitting #39 on the Country Charts. In 1975, Narvel Felts released a cover of “Reconsider Me.” His version charted at #1 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country charts, spent 6 weeks on the US charts, and peaked at #67 on the Billboard Hot 100. Smith and Lewis also recorded themselves performing this song, but their version wasn't released until 1994, five years after Smith's death. (Ace #CDCHD 495). Also in 1969, Jo Jo Benson and Peggy Scott recorded the Smith and Lewis song, “Soulshake” which peaked at #37 on the Billboard US Pop charts and #13 on the US R&B charts. Several other artists recorded this song including

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

and Loretta Lynn (

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

Records, 1977), Delaney & Bonnie and Friends (ATCO/

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

1970), and Bruce Willis (

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

, 1989).

Awards and recognitions

Smith was the recipient of six BMI Awards for her songs “The Girl Most Likely”, “Mountain of Love”, “Oh Singer”, “Reconsider Me”, There Never Was a Time” and “Wedding Cake”. In 1988, Smith was inducted into the Southern Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 1995 she was the first woman inducted into the Women in Music Hall of Fame.

Pseudonyms

Smith was a talented guitarist and pianist and her playing can be heard on many Ram releases, but she often used the aliases Grace Tennessee and Laura Martin (writing credits), or changed the spelling of her name to Myra in the song/album credits.

Death

In 1986, Mira wrote and played guitar for her last recording “Wings Like Eagles.” In 1988, she moved back to Shreveport, and in 1989 she died of leukemia. While many sources report her death as September 29, 1989, her obituary in the '' Shreveport Times'' is dated August 29, 1989.

Songwriting hits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mira Ann 1920s births 1989 deaths American songwriters