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Biography
No footnotes|date=December 2008Infobox musical artist| name = Sammi Smith| image_size = (Only use for images smaller than 220 pixels)| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Jewel Faye Smith| birth_date = birth date|1943|8|5|mf=y| death_date = death date and age|2005|2|12|1943|8|5|mf=y| origin = Orange County, California | instrument =| genre = Country music | occupation = singer , songwriter | years_active = 1968–2005| label = Columbia Records Mega Records Elektra Records Cyclone Records| associated_acts = Waylon Jennings , Willie Nelson , Jessi Colter | website = Sammi Smith (August 5, 1943 - February 12, 2005) was an United States|American country music singer and songwriter . Born Jewel Faye Smith , she is best known for her 1971 country/pop Crossover (music)|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.
Early life
Sammi Smith was born in Orange County, California , 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.
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 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 (magazine)|Billboard U.S. pop chart. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a music recording sales certification|gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in April 1971.cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 303 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 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.
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, Texas , 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 20 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 Arizona and became involved in Native Americans in the United States|Native American causes, working for Apache s. She also started her own band called Apache Spirit , which was made up of Native Americans in the United States|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.
Death
On February 12, 2005, at the age of 61, Sammi Smith died at her home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma|Oklahoma City . Although the cause of her death was never confirmed, it was known that Smith was a heavy smoker . She was buried in Guymon, Oklahoma which she claimed was her home town in a Hee Haw episode that aired http://www.tv.com/shows/hee-haw/ep-93-1-13-73-tennessee-ernie-ford-sammi-smith-charlie-mccoy-1134017/ Jan 1, 1973.
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 Payne , 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.
Discography
main|Sammi Smith discography
Awards
CMA Awards
1971: Single of the Year for " Help Me Make It Through the Night "
Grammy Awards
1972: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for " Help Me Make It Through the Night "
Award nominations
CMA Awards
1971: Album of the Year for Help Me Make It Through the Night
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/smith_sammi/artist.jhtml Sammi Smith At CMT.com
Tucker, Stephen R. (1998). "Sammi Smith". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music . Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p.& nbsp;492.
Wolff, Kurt. Country Music: The Rough Guide .
Persondata | NAME =Smith, Sammi | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =August 5, 1943 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH =February 12, 2005 | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sammi Category:1943 births Category:2005 deaths Category:People from Orange County, California Category:American country singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from California Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees
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