Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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SMITH, Sammi

(b Jewel Smith, 5 Aug. '43, Orange CA; d 12 Feb. '05, Oklahoma City) Country singer with husky voice and poignant phrasing, highly regarded by iconoclastic 'outlaw' elements in Nashville including Billy Joe Shaver, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings (she joined the last two in their show at '73 disc jockey convention). She grew up in Oklahoma, singing from age 12; Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins (with Johnny Cash show) encouraged her, Cash helped to get Columbia contract '68-9 and she had minor country hits there ('So Long Charlie Brown') but also met the janitor, Kris Kristofferson: she switched to the new Mega label '70-5 and had a top 10 pop hit (no. 1 country) with his 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' '70 (her version was used in the soundtrack of the John Huston film Fat City and won a Grammy). Her other two country top tens were 'Then You Walk In' and 'Today I Started Loving You Again', both on Mega; she also recorded for Elektra, Zodiac, Cyclone, Sound Factory and Step One, having a total of 37 top 100 hits in the Billboard country chart '68-86. Like other outlaws, making the charts was not her only priority; active on behalf of American Indians, she gave benefit concerts for scholarships helping to keep the Apache language alive. LPs included He's Everywhere (retitled Help Me Make It Through The Night), Rainbow In Daddy's Eyes, Something Old, Something New, Lonesome, I've Got To Have You, Today I Started Loving You Again, all on Mega; As Long As There's A Sunday, New Winds, All Quadrants and Mixed Emotions on Elektra; Girl Hero on Cyclone. Her last two (minor) hits on Step One were 'You Just Hurt My Last Feeling' and 'Love Me All Over' '85-6.