Sammi Smith country singer
Busgal
Remembering Sammi Smith
Biography by Sandra Brennan
In the tradition of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson,
singer/songwriter Sammi Smith was considered a country music outlaw,
unafraid to sing songs that reflected the sometimes gritty realities of
modern life. She first came to fame singing Kris Kristofferson's "Help
Me Make It Through the Night" and was noted for her husky voice, the
result of spending many years singing in smoke-filled clubs.
She was born Jewel Fay Smith in California, but spent her childhood
living in different southwestern states. At age 11, Smith dropped out
of school and the following year began singing professionally in clubs.
She married at age 15 and produced four children. At songwriter Gene
Sullivan's urging, a newly-divorced Smith moved to Nashville in 1967. A
year later she had her first minor hit, "So Long, Charlie Brown, Don't
Look for Me Around." In 1970, she had another minor hit, but it was not
until the end of the year that she had her first major smash with "Help
Me Make It Through the Night," which made it to the top of the country
charts and also became a Top Ten pop hit. Later that year, she wrote
"Cedartown, Georgia," which became a major hit for Waylon Jennings.
In 1973, Smith moved to Dallas to join Jennings and Willie Nelson and
become an "outlaw." Through 1975, she had several hits including "Then
You Walk In" and "Today I Started Loving You Again." She moved to
Elektra in 1975 and remained with them for three years. During that
time, she had several chart entries with such songs as "Loving Arms,"
"Days That End in 'Y'" (both 1977) and "Norma Jean" (1978), a tribute
to Marilyn Monroe. In 1979, she signed to the independent label Cyclone
and had a Top 20 hit with "What a Lie," In 1980, she moved to Sound
Factory and had one Top 40 and two Top 20 hits including "I Cry When
I'm Alone." Her last hit came in 1986 with "Love Me All Over."
deb...@comcast.net
apparently still performing as recently as Feb.5th...
Colonel Buckshot
Miss Smith's passing on a message board devoted to the Oak Ridge Boys
group. No details on her cause of death, but it appears to be sudden.
Her son has a role in the upcoming movie on Johnny Cash's life.
Funeral Services are set for Wednesday the 16th in Oklahoma.
The link to the message board is
http://www.oakridgeboys.com/Pages/board_frame.html
Look for a thread called "Sammi Smith has passed away".
deb...@comcast.net
Legendary country singer Sammi Smith dies at 61
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Big News Network.com Sunday 13th February, 2005
Country singer Sammi Smith who immortalised Kris Kristofferson's 'Help
Me Make It Through The Night' has died in Oklahoma City.
Smith who was 61 died peacefully at home at 9:00am Saturday. She was
suffering from emphysema. Smith had been living in Oklahoma City the
past seven months, her sister, Elaine Thompson told us.
'Help me make it through the night' soared to the top of the charts in
1970. Sammi's sultry rendition of the song became a country classic, so
much so that "Heartaches By The Number," a book about Country
music's 500 greatest singles, lists the version as the greatest
single in the history of Country music.
Originally named Jewel Fay Smith, Smith was born in California, and
spent her childhood living in various southwestern states, mainly
Oklahoma. At age 11, she dropped out of school and began singing
professionally in clubs the following year. Sammi married at age
fifteen and had three children with her first husband. Following her
divorce, she moved to Nashville at the urging of Johnny Cash. In 1967
she signed a record deal with Columbia, and had her first minor hit in
1968 with 'So Long Charlie Brown, Don't Look For Me Around'.
Sammi moved to Mega Records in 1970. After another minor hit, she
struck gold at the end of that year with 'Help Me Make It Through The
Night'. Sammi wrote a hit for Waylon Jennings in 1973 titled 'Cedartown
Georgia'. After touring the U.S. and Great Britain, she moved to Dallas
in 1973 to join Jennings and Willie Nelson in the 'outlaw' tradition.
Her performances with them inspired Waylon to give her the nickname
'Girl Hero'.
Her close personal and professional relationship with Nelson and
Jennings endured many years. Sammi's son from her second marriage is
named after Jennings. He too, is in the music business in Nashville.
Sammi enjoyed several modest hits while with Mega, including 'Then You
Walk In' and 'Today I Started Loving You Again' before moving to
Elektra in 1975. Her three year association with them produced several
chart songs such as 'Loving Arms' 'Days That End In Y' and 'Norma
Jean'. In 1979, she signed with Cyclone and had a Top 20 hit with 'What
A Lie'. In 1980 Sammi signed with Sound Factory and had a several more
hits, including 'Cheatings A Two Way Street'. Her last hit was in 1986.
Her career produced some real classics and she continued to provide
memories with her last CD - a compilation by Varese Sarabande Records
titled 'The Best of Sammi Smith'.
(Background obtained from Sizemore Music).
(Funeral services will be held this Wednesday at Guardian West Chapel
in Oklahoma Ciy at 10:00am - telephone Guardian West at 405 495 9292).
Bill Schenley
Kind'a stunned. Sammi Smith was one of my favorite singers. She
recorded so many great songs ... "Help Me Make It Through The Night,"
which was the 1971 CMA Single of the Year (she was also nominated for
Female Vocalist of the Year and it also won her a Grammy for Best
Country Vocal Performance - Female), "Today I Started Loving You
Again," "The Toast of 45," "The Rainbow In Daddy's Eyes," "Send Me The
Pillow," "City of New Orleans," "He's Everywhere," "Long Black Veil,"
"Saunders Ferry Lane," "When Michael Calls," "The Letter" and on and
on ...
Sammi Smith had a haunting voice and a haunted life. She seemed to
pick record labels as bad as she chose husbands. Her third husband
left her when her health started to fail ... a few years ago. But
she was a huge asset to the performing careers of Waylon Jennings,
Mickey Newbury and Willie Nelson. In the early 1970s she got
promoters to second-bill all three of them as often as she could. She
wrote "Cedartown, Georgia" for Jennings.
She was once married to Jody Payne, a former guitar player for Willie
Nelson. Her son, Waylon Payne (he recorded a CD, "The Drifter")
played Jerry Lee Lewis in the film about Johnny Cash, "I Walk The
Line," and he plays guitarist Hank Garland in the movie, "Crazy." He
was named for his godfather, Waylon Jennings.
Sammi Smith was part Apache and Kiowa. She seven children; three
were Apache children she had adopted. She was only 61.
The book, "Heartaches By The Number: Country Music's 500 Greatest
Singles," has her version of "Help Me Make It Through The Night" as
the number one country song.
1. "Help Me Make It Through the Night," Sammi Smith
2. "Lost Highway," Hank Williams
3. "Crazy," Patsy Cline
4. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," The Carter Family
5. "Don't Be Cruel," Elvis Presley
6. "Crazy Arms," Ray Price
7. "The Window Up Above," George Jones
8. "Coat of Many Colors," Dolly Parton
9. "Rank Stranger," The Stanley Brothers & the Clinch Mountain Boys
10. "Born to Lose," Ted Daffan's Texans
Louis Epstein
> Sunday 13th February, 2005
>
> Legendary country singer Sammi Smith dies at 61
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Big News Network.com Sunday 13th February, 2005
>
> Country singer Sammi Smith who immortalised Kris Kristofferson's 'Help
> Me Make It Through The Night' has died in Oklahoma City.
>
> Smith who was 61 died peacefully at home at 9:00am Saturday.
So Friday was the last night she made it through.
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
Bill Schenley
> > 9:00am Saturday.
> So Friday was the last night she made it through.
Yes ... She died on one of those Days That End In "Y."