okc

okc

SAMMI SMITH & BOBBY WHITE PERFORM "HEART OF A CLOWN" OKC, OK. 1961

11mo ago
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COUNTRY MUSIC TORCH SINGER SAMMI SMITH AND STEEL GUITARIST BOBBY WHITE SING AND PLAY "IF I HAD THE HEART OF A CLOWN".THIS RECORDING IS ONE OF SIX SONGS RECORDED BY WHITE AND SMITH.IT WAS RECORDRD IN OKLAHOMA CITY IN 1961 .THE OTHER SONGS WERE RECORDED IN CALIFORNIA.WHITE & SMITH WERE MARRIED FOR A SHORT TIME IN THE 1960s.,THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST RECORDINGS OF SMITH WHO WENT ON TO BE ONE OF THE PRIME VOCAL INNOVATORS OF THE NEW URBAN COUNTRY MUSIC SOUND IN THE EARLY 70S..WHITE IS STILL REGARDED AS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WESTERN SWING STEEL GUITARIST OF THE 1950s.HE PIONEERED THE FIRST 10 STRING PEDAL STEEL GUITAR..HIS B FLAT MAJ 7 #11 TUNING MADE IT POSSIBLE TO USE THE PROGRESSIVE HARMONIES OF THE BIG BAND POP SOUND..IT FOREVER CHANGED THE COURSE OF MODERN COUNTRY MUSIC.HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MODERN SOUND OF HANK THOMPSONS BRAZOS VALLEY BOYS. UNFORTUNATELY THOMPSON WAS NEVER KNOWN TO GIVE MUCH CREDIT TO ANY OF HIS WORLD CLASS BRAZOS VALLEY MUSICIANS IN HIS WESTERN SWING BIG BAND OF THE 1950s.. FORTUNATELY HE WAS RECOGNIZED BY A GROUP OF HIS PEERS IN THE 1990s.THE SAME COULD BE SAID FOR SAMMI SMITH..SHE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST WOMEN WHO TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR BAND.,THEIR CAREER AND STAGE IMAGE.BUT BECAUSE OF HER LINK TO THE OUT LAW MUSIC MOVEMENT OF THE EARLY 70s.IN 2002 VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY PAID TRIBUTE TO HER GRAMMY AWARD WINNING SONG "HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT" BY CHOOSING IT AS THE NO.1 POSITION OF THE TOP 100 COUNTRY MUSIC LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME.