Sammi Smith
Encyclopedia
Sammi Smith was an American
country music
singer and songwriter
. Born Jewel Faye Smith, she is best known for her 1971 country/pop crossover
hit, "Help Me Make It Through the Night
", which was written by Kris Kristofferson
. She became one of the few women in the outlaw country
movement during the 1970s.
, in 1943 but spent her childhood in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. She dropped out of school at the age of eleven and began to sing professionally in nightclubs. She was only fifteen when she married, and eventually had four children. In 1967, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee
, soon after her divorce. When Johnny Cash
got wind of her talent, she was soon signed with Columbia Records
. She produced her first minor country hit in 1968 titled "So Long, Charlie Brown, Don't Look for Me Around". The song showed Smith's potential as a country powerhouse.
In 1970, Smith signed with a new label Mega Records
and her first hit for her new label was called "He's Everywhere", which made the top 25 on the country charts. Finally, in 1971, she struck gold with "Help Me Make It Through the Night". The song immediately became a #1 hit on the country charts and #8 on the Billboard
U.S. pop chart. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A. in April 1971. At first, record companies were uncomfortable with the song's honest sexuality, which was new for country music, but DJs tested the song and the response from listeners was enormous. The song had been composed by Kris Kristofferson
, only a songwriter at the time, who had recorded the only other version of the song. After Smith's hit, the song was later covered by Gladys Knight and the Pips and Elvis Presley
; both versions achieved more modest chart success.
In 1972, Sammi Smith won a Grammy Award
for the song. She also won the title Best Female Country Vocal Performance that year, and Kristofferson took songwriting awards. The song made Smith and Kristofferson household names in the music business.
, with Waylon Jennings
and Willie Nelson
to become a country "outlaw". Smith would continue to have an ongoing friendship with Jennings and Nelson for the rest of her life.
Smith continued to have success with the Mega Records label until 1975. She reached the Top 10 twice after the success of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" with "Then You Walk In" (1971) and "Today I Started Loving You Again" (1975), her last Top Ten hit. In 1972, "I've Got to Have You" was a successful country hit, and it even broke onto the pop charts at #77. However, Smith's songs would not catch much fire during the rest of her career. Smith would continue to score Top 40 country hits like "The Rainbow in Daddy's Eyes" (1974) and "Long Black Veil" (1974).
In 1976, after Mega Records closed its doors, Smith signed with Elektra Records
and scored with several hits, the biggest of these were "Sunday School to Broadway" (1976), "Loving Arms" (1977), "I Can't Stop Loving You
" (1977), and "Days That End in Y" (1977).
In 1979, Smith made a successful comeback album on Cyclone Records called Girl Hero. The song "What a Lie" from that album almost became a Top 10 country hit for Smith, peaking at #16. She also recorded for Sound Factory Records during the early '80s and scored her last Top 20 in 1981 with "Cheatin's a Two-Way Street." Her last country hit came in 1986 with "Love Me All Over."
Help me make it through the night was previously recorded by Ray Price.
and became involved in Native American
causes, working for Apache
s. She also started her own band called Apache Spirit, which was made up of Native Americans
.
In 1995 a compilation album was released called The Best of Sammi Smith, which consisted of her big hit and many other various countrypolitan songs.
. Although the cause of her death was never confirmed, it was known that Smith was a heavy smoker
.
To mark Sammi Smith's long career, a tribute album was released in her honor on September 26, 2006, titled Help Me Make It Through the Night: The Memorial Album. It featured all of her biggest hits from the 1970s.
, is an actor. In 2005 he portrayed Jerry Lee Lewis
in the motion picture Walk the Line
, the biopic film about the life of Johnny Cash
, one of Smith's old friends.
Mother is country singer 'Sammi Smith'; father is Jody Payne, longtime guitarist with Willie Nelson.
His character in Walk the Line (2005) (Jerry Lee Lewis), and his character in Crazy (2008/II) (Hank Garland) actually recorded together in the 1950s.
Both he and Jerry Lee Lewis (who he portrayed in _Walk the Line (2005)) are the same height.
Raised by his aunt and uncle in Dallas, Texas from the time he was about four months old since both his parents were always touring with their respective music careers.
Often spent summers on tour with his mother, 'Sammi Smith'
Started in the Los Angeles club scene at clubs such as Eastbound And Down and the King Club
Recorded "The Drifter" in 2004. He wrote 10 of the 11 songs on the album and spent the advance on a 1964 white Cadillac convertible.
Wrote 10 of the 11 songs on "The Drifter"
Wrote for and performed on Pat Green's seventh album "Wave On Wave"
Payne and Pat Green co-wrote the satirical song "Elvis" and "Sing Till I Stop Crying" on Green's album "Wave on Wave"
Portrays Jerry Lee Lewis in Walk the Line (2005), which is about the life and times of Johnny Cash. Cash's bassist Marshall Grant was the one who discovered his mother 'Sammi Smith', and Cash's friend and collaborator Waylon Jennings is his Godfather.
His mother is singer 'Sammi Smith' of "Help Me Make it Through the Night" fame. His father, Jody Payne, is Willie Nelson's longtime guitarist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. Born Jewel Faye Smith, she is best known for her 1971 country/pop crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
hit, "Help Me Make It Through the Night
Help Me Make It Through the Night
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson.Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire magazine interview with Frank Sinatra...
", which was written by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
. She became one of the few women in the outlaw country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...
movement during the 1970s.
Early life
Sammi Smith was born in Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, in 1943 but spent her childhood in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. She dropped out of school at the age of eleven and began to sing professionally in nightclubs. She was only fifteen when she married, and eventually had four children. In 1967, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, soon after her divorce. When Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
got wind of her talent, she was soon signed with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. She produced her first minor country hit in 1968 titled "So Long, Charlie Brown, Don't Look for Me Around". The song showed Smith's potential as a country powerhouse.
The success of "Help Me Make It Through the Night"
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" was Sammi Smith's career hit and the one that made her famous. She had been one of the rare women in the "outlaw country" movement sweeping country music in the 1970s. At this time, country was moving in two directions: "outlaw" and a more mainstream pop sound. However, "outlaw country" would be short-lived, with country taking on a distinctly pop cast by the end of the '70s. Smith would still remain with the "outlaw" sound throughout the 1970s.In 1970, Smith signed with a new label Mega Records
Mega Records
Mega Records was a Nashville, Tennessee-based music label that released albums by bands such as Apollo 100 and country and western singer Sammi Smith, as early as the early 1970s...
and her first hit for her new label was called "He's Everywhere", which made the top 25 on the country charts. Finally, in 1971, she struck gold with "Help Me Make It Through the Night". The song immediately became a #1 hit on the country charts and #8 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
U.S. pop chart. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the R.I.A.A. in April 1971. At first, record companies were uncomfortable with the song's honest sexuality, which was new for country music, but DJs tested the song and the response from listeners was enormous. The song had been composed by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, only a songwriter at the time, who had recorded the only other version of the song. After Smith's hit, the song was later covered by Gladys Knight and the Pips and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
; both versions achieved more modest chart success.
In 1972, Sammi Smith won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for the song. She also won the title Best Female Country Vocal Performance that year, and Kristofferson took songwriting awards. The song made Smith and Kristofferson household names in the music business.
After "Help Me Make It Through the Night"
After the success of her hit, Smith continued to have more success on the country charts. In 1973, Sammi moved to Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, with Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
and Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
to become a country "outlaw". Smith would continue to have an ongoing friendship with Jennings and Nelson for the rest of her life.
Smith continued to have success with the Mega Records label until 1975. She reached the Top 10 twice after the success of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" with "Then You Walk In" (1971) and "Today I Started Loving You Again" (1975), her last Top Ten hit. In 1972, "I've Got to Have You" was a successful country hit, and it even broke onto the pop charts at #77. However, Smith's songs would not catch much fire during the rest of her career. Smith would continue to score Top 40 country hits like "The Rainbow in Daddy's Eyes" (1974) and "Long Black Veil" (1974).
In 1976, after Mega Records closed its doors, Smith signed with Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
and scored with several hits, the biggest of these were "Sunday School to Broadway" (1976), "Loving Arms" (1977), "I Can't Stop Loving You
I Can't Stop Loving You
"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records...
" (1977), and "Days That End in Y" (1977).
In 1979, Smith made a successful comeback album on Cyclone Records called Girl Hero. The song "What a Lie" from that album almost became a Top 10 country hit for Smith, peaking at #16. She also recorded for Sound Factory Records during the early '80s and scored her last Top 20 in 1981 with "Cheatin's a Two-Way Street." Her last country hit came in 1986 with "Love Me All Over."
Help me make it through the night was previously recorded by Ray Price.
Decline and retirement
After 1979, little was heard from Sammi Smith. She had, however, moved to ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and became involved in Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
causes, working for Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s. She also started her own band called Apache Spirit, which was made up of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.
In 1995 a compilation album was released called The Best of Sammi Smith, which consisted of her big hit and many other various countrypolitan songs.
Death
On February 12, 2005, at the age of 61, Sammi Smith died at her home in Oklahoma CityOklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. Although the cause of her death was never confirmed, it was known that Smith was a heavy smoker
Smoker
Smoker is a noun derived from "smoke"/"smoking" and may have the following specialized meanings:* Someone who smokes tobacco or cannabis, cigarette substitutes, or various other drugs* Smoking , smoker, an apparatus for smoking...
.
To mark Sammi Smith's long career, a tribute album was released in her honor on September 26, 2006, titled Help Me Make It Through the Night: The Memorial Album. It featured all of her biggest hits from the 1970s.
Family
Sammi Smith's son, Waylon PayneWaylon Payne
Waylon Payne is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor.-Early life:Payne was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of guitarist Jody Payne and Grammy Award-winning country singer Sammi Smith. His father became a longtime picker for Willie Nelson; his mother toured with Waylon...
, is an actor. In 2005 he portrayed Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
in the motion picture Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
, the biopic film about the life of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, one of Smith's old friends.
Discography
He is named after his godfather Waylon Jennings.Mother is country singer 'Sammi Smith'; father is Jody Payne, longtime guitarist with Willie Nelson.
His character in Walk the Line (2005) (Jerry Lee Lewis), and his character in Crazy (2008/II) (Hank Garland) actually recorded together in the 1950s.
Both he and Jerry Lee Lewis (who he portrayed in _Walk the Line (2005)) are the same height.
Raised by his aunt and uncle in Dallas, Texas from the time he was about four months old since both his parents were always touring with their respective music careers.
Often spent summers on tour with his mother, 'Sammi Smith'
Started in the Los Angeles club scene at clubs such as Eastbound And Down and the King Club
Recorded "The Drifter" in 2004. He wrote 10 of the 11 songs on the album and spent the advance on a 1964 white Cadillac convertible.
Wrote 10 of the 11 songs on "The Drifter"
Wrote for and performed on Pat Green's seventh album "Wave On Wave"
Payne and Pat Green co-wrote the satirical song "Elvis" and "Sing Till I Stop Crying" on Green's album "Wave on Wave"
Portrays Jerry Lee Lewis in Walk the Line (2005), which is about the life and times of Johnny Cash. Cash's bassist Marshall Grant was the one who discovered his mother 'Sammi Smith', and Cash's friend and collaborator Waylon Jennings is his Godfather.
His mother is singer 'Sammi Smith' of "Help Me Make it Through the Night" fame. His father, Jody Payne, is Willie Nelson's longtime guitarist.
Grammy Awards
- 1972: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Help Me Make It Through the NightHelp Me Make It Through the Night"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson.Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire magazine interview with Frank Sinatra...
"
CMA Awards
- 1971: Album of the Year for Help Me Make It Through the Night
- 1971: Female Vocalist of the Year