Margo Smith: Difference between revisions

Margo Smith

Margo Smith (Born April 9, 1942, Dayton, Ohio) is a country music singer. Born Betty Lou Miller, Margo Smith was one of the most successful country singers of the mid to late 1970s.

Rise to Fame

Margo Smith was born Betty Lou Miller in 1942. Smith had been singing since childhood, but decided to persue a career in Kindergarten teaching instead. During this period, Smith would write songs that she would use frequently in her lesson plans during the day at school. In 1975, however, Smith's big break came when she was signed on to 20th Century Records. From there on, Smith released a single called "There I Said It," which made the charts. However, in 1976, Smith had to change record companies. She went to Warner Bros. Records when Nashville shut down its divison of 20th Century Records. When working with Warner Brothers, Smith worked with producer Norro Wilson, who helped Smith jumpstart her career and also create an image of Smith to people across the country. Wilson thought that if he created Smith into a sexy type of image, people would respond to it. Surprisingly, the public did just that.

Initial Success

When working with Wilson, Smith achieved great success with hit songs such as "Save Your Kisses For Me" and "Love's Explosion." Smith went to #1 on the country charts twice with the singles "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" (written by Benny Davis and Ted Murray) and "It Only Hurts For A Little While," which was previously recorded by the Ames Brothers.

Since the success of "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You", the song remained as one of Smith's signature pieces throughout her career. In 1979, Smith's Top 10 single "Still a Woman" showed country music fans the new sexy imagery that she had created over the past couple of years. Like Dottie West, Smith would often wear sexy clothes like Spandex on stage, and her stage shows were very flashy. Some people thought that this was inappropriate, but other fans felt that it was the best thing Smith had ever done. It increased her fan club by a dramatic number. Smith even spoke openly about sex in interviews, which raised some eyebrows as well.

The Glamour Queen of Country

Margo Smith had created a revolution in the Country music field. Few singers at the time spoke so intensly and openly about such love-failing relationships, especially from a woman's point of view. Many of her songs also spoke about sex, which was something new for Country music at the time. However, Smith remained on top of her career until the end of the 1970s.

Decline

In 1982, she left her longetime husband Richard Cammeron (who was her manager and founded. After the divorce, other things started to go downhill for Smith, including her glamour Queen and sexy image, which went on to become publicly called a "mistake" by Smith herself. This turned out to be the biggest mistake of Smith's career because she could never get back on top again, just as many singers had tried to do before in the past and failed.

In the mid 1980s, she released an album called The Best of the Tennessee Yodeler. Later in the 80s, she began to sing Gospel music with her daughter Holly. More recently though, Smith contributed some of her singing to a picure book called Little Star: A Musical Story, which is a children's picture book. Margo Smith will remain as one of the few Country glamour queens of the 1970s who proved image was everything and created a whole revoloution of more country singers to come.

Discography

Selected Hit Singles & Albums

Year	Single	U.S. Country	Album
1975	"There I Said It"	8	Margo Smith
1978	"Don't Break the Heart That Loves You"	#1	Don't Break the Heart That Loves You
1978	"It Only Hurts For a Little While"	#1	Don't Break the Heart That Loves You
1978	"Little Things Mean A Lot"	3	Don't Break the Heart That Loves You

Other Albums

• A Woman (1979)
• Just Margo (1980)
• Diamonds and Chills
• The Best of the Tennessee Yodeler
• Harbor Lights (2005)

Sources

• All Music
• Country Music: The Rough Guide, Wolff, Kurt

External Links

• Margo Smith Offical Website