Song:Smile A Little Smile For Me
Album:The British Invasion: History Of British Rock Vol. 9
There were two groups known as The Flying Machine in the late 60s. There was the US group led by singer songwriter James Taylor. This is a British group that had a top five pop hit with Smile A Little Smile For Me in 1970. The band was put together by producer Tony Macauley out of the remnants of a group called Pinkerton's Assorted Colours. Macauley had a lot of success most significantly with The Foundations. Guitarist Tony Newman and bassist Stuart Colman became studio musicians after Pinkerton split up. Macauley and partner Geoff Stephens brought in vocalist Sam Kempe, guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Wilkinson to form The Flying Machine. They signed with the Kapp Records label Congress Records and Smile A Little Smile For Me reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold a million copies in 1970. The song didn't chart in England. Follow up singles didn't catch on and the group split up after they tried to convince Macauley to let them be edgier. This Rhino various artists comp is part of a British Invasion box set. Macauley and Stephens went back to producing other groups. Stuart Colman started working as a presenter for the BBC in the mid-70s and also became a producer in the 80s beginning with rockabilly singer Shakin' Stevens. Here's the video for Smile A Little Smile For Me by The Flying Machine.
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