OC Smith (June 21, 1932November 23, 2001) was an American musician. Born Ocie Lee Smith in Mansfield, Louisiana, Smith moved with his parents to Little Rock, Arkansas, before their divorce saw Smith and his mother move to Los Angeles, California. After completing a psychology degree at Southern University, Smith joined the Air Force, and served throughout the US, Europe and Asia. While in the Air Force, Smith began entering talent contests and toured with Horace Heidt. On his discharge in July 1955, Smith went into jazz music to pay the bills. Smith gained his first break as a singer with Sy Oliver and made an appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. His success on that show led to a recording contract with Cadence Records. Smith's debut release was a cover of the Little Richard hit "Tutti Frutti" in December 1955. The song was not a hit, but convinced MGM Records to sign Smith to a solo contract, resulting in three more releases, but still no hits. In 1961, Smith was recruited by Count Basie to be his vocalist, a position he held until 1965. He also continued to record with different labels, but a hit remained elusive. By 1968, Smith's then label, Columbia Records, was ready to release him from his recording contract, when he entered the charts for the first time with "Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp", which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart[1] and also broke the Top 40 in the United States. In 1976 Kenny Rogers revived the hit as a country song. Smith changed <b>...</b>
Smith
Son
of
Hickory
Holler's
Tramp
oldies
sixties
60s
soul
American
musician
UK
Singles
Chart
Top
40
Billboard
sixtiesbrowser
