Artist:Hurricane Smith
Song:Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?
Album:Rock Me Gently: Mellow Rock's Greatest Hits
Oh, Babe, What Would You Say? was a top five hit in 1972. It was the only chart single for Gordon "Hurricane" Smith. Normally Smith was a recording engineer and assistant to George Martin at EMI. He was born Feb. 22, 1923 in Edmonton, London, England. Smith was an RAF glider pilot in WWII. He played trumpet in several jazz groups in the 50s. When that didn't work out, he took a job as an apprentice engineer at EMI. He was the recording engineer on all of The Beatles recordings until Rubber Soul when he was promoted to producer. He worked with Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things and Barclay James Harvest. He got into singing as a fluke. Smith wrote the song Don't Let It Die. He recorded a demo in the hopes that John Lennon would record it. When he played the demo for producer Mickie Most, Most told him it was good enough to release as is. The song reached #2 on the British Singles chart. Then he recorded the album Don't Let It Die. It was released in the US as Hurricane Smith. Oh, Babe, What Would You Say? reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the British Singles chart. Smith released a second album in England. The success was enough that Smith toured British clubs for years. Occasional recordings went nowhere. But an instrumental he recorded Theme from an Unmade Silent Movie was picked up by soccer teams as a theme. You can get Oh, Babe, What Would You Say on this various artists budget comp. Norman Smith died on Mar. 3, 2008 at age 85. Here's Hurricane Smith performing Oh, Babe, What Would You Say? 9on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. 1972.
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