Smith was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969. They had a blues-based sound and scored a

Top 5 ''Top Five'' is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Rock. Produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, the film stars Rock, Rosario Dawson, and Gabrielle Union, and follows New York City comedian and film star Andre Allen (Rock), ...

hit in the United States in 1969 with a cover of the Burt Bacharach song "

Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles, and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby I ...

", featuring

Gayle McCormick Gayle McCormick (November 26, 1948 – March 1, 2016) was an American singer, best known for her work with the rock band Smith. She attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri and sang high soprano with the Suburb Choir, a 150-v ...

on lead vocals. This disc sold over one million copies between July and October 1969, out-charted popular versions by the Beatles and the

Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

, and received a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

awarded by the R.I.A.A.

Beginnings

The group evolved from "The Smiths" (not to be confused with later English band

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

), which featured two of the same members, and had attempted a hit single with "Now I Taste The Tears", produced and arranged by Ron Budnik. "Tears" was a brooding, foreboding sounding record that didn't chart well. When the band did not succeed, McCormick, who had started her career singing songs by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

, Etta James and others, was added as a front woman and lead vocalist. The group were discovered by 1960s rocker

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit "Runaway". In 1999, he was induc ...

in a nightclub in Los Angeles. Shannon arranged "Baby It's You" for the group and got them signed to the

ABC-Dunhill ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

Career

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, ''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 since it only reached #74. Smith's version of "The Weight" was included on the epochal Easy Rider Soundtrack, ''Easy Rider'' soundtrack because, due to contractual reasons, The Band's version, which appeared in the Easy Rider, movie, was unavailable. Most of their material consisted of covers of popular rock and Rhythm and blues, R&B tunes. The band's singles "Take a Look Around" and "What Am I Gonna Do" reached the charts, but the group broke up after two albums. The band's hit "Baby It's You" was featured in Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse (film), Grindhouse film, ''Death Proof''.

McCormick solo career

After Smith disbanded, McCormick went on to record three solo albums, ''Gayle McCormick'' in 1971, ''Flesh & Blood'' in 1972 and ''One More Hour'' in 1974. The single "It's A Cryin' Shame" from her eponymous first album was a minor hit for her, reaching #44 on the charts in 1971. It and "Gonna Be Alright Now" were included on the 1994 reissue of ''A Group Called Smith''.

Discography

Albums

* ''A Group Called Smith'' - (1969) * ''Minus-Plus'' - (1970)

Personnel

Smith was composed of one woman and four men: *

– lead vocals *Larry Moss – organ *Jerry Carter – bass *Robert Evans – drums *John Horrigan - drums *Rich Cliburn – lead guitar *Alan Parker - guitar

References

External links

*[ AllMusic biography] {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith Rock music groups from California Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Dunhill Records artists Musical groups from Los Angeles