O.C. Smith › Similar Artists

Jackie Wilson - 100% match to O.C. Smith

Jack Leroy Wilson, 9 June 1934, Detroit, Michigan, USA, d. 21 January 1984, Mount Holly, New Jersey, USA. When parental pressure thwarted his boxing ambitions, Wilson took to singing in small local clubs. He sang with the Thrillers (a predecessor group to the Royals) and recorded some solo tracks for Dizzy Gillespie’s Dee Gee label as Sonny Wilson, before replacing Clyd Read more

Dorothy Moore - 95% match to O.C. Smith

13 October 1947, Jackson, Mississippi, USA. Moore was one of the last great southern soul singers to find success in the late 70s, when disco and funk were making deep soul an increasingly marginalized form limited to the south. She began her career at Jackson State University where she formed an all-female group called the Poppies with Petsye McCune and Rosemary Taylor. The Read more

Joe Simon - 77% match to O.C. Smith

2 September 1943, Simmesport, Louisiana, USA. Simon’s professional career began following his move to Oakland, California, where a 1962 release, ‘My Adorable One’, was a minor hit. In 1964, Joe met John Richbourg, a Nashville-based disc jockey who began guiding the singer’s musical path, initially on the Sound Stage 7 label. ‘Let’s Do It Over
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Chairmen Of The Board - 76% match to O.C. Smith

Briefly known as the Gentlemen, this Detroit-based quartet was instigated by General Norman Johnson (23 May 1943, Norfolk, Virginia, USA). A former member of the Showmen, he left that group in 1968 intent on a solo path, but instead joined Danny Woods (b. 10 April 1944, Atlanta, Georgia, USA), Harrison Kennedy (b. Canada) and Eddie Curtis (b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) Read more

Little Anthony & The Imperials - 76% match to O.C. Smith

Formed in Brooklyn, New York, USA, in 1957, and originally called the Chesters, the group comprised ‘Little’ Anthony Gourdine (8 January 1940, Brooklyn, New York, USA), Ernest Wright Jnr. (b. 24 August 1941, Brooklyn, New York, USA), Clarence Collins (b. 17 March 1941, Brooklyn, New York, USA), Tracy Lord and Glouster Rogers (b. 1940). A vital link between doo-wop Read more

Dion - 75% match to O.C. Smith

During his peak, from 1958-63, Dion (Dion Francis DiMucci, 18 July 1939, the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA) was the quintessential Italian-American New York City rocker and was, perhaps, the first major white rock singer who was not from a southern city. The career of one of America’s legendary artists has spanned six decades, during which time he has made numerou Read more

Jerry Butler - 75% match to O.C. Smith

8 December 1939, Sunflower, Mississippi, USA. Jerry, older brother of Billy Butler, moved to Chicago as a child and was later part of the city’s burgeoning gospel circuit. He subsequently joined several secular groups, including the Roosters, an aspiring trio of Sam Gooden and Richard and Arthur Brooks. Butler then suggested they add his friend, Curtis Mayfield, on guit Read more

Millie Jackson - 61% match to O.C. Smith

15 July 1944, Thompson, Georgia, USA. A former model, Millie Jackson’s controversial singing career began professionally in 1964 at a club in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. Her first recordings followed in 1970; over the next three years she made several excellent, if traditional, soul singles, which included two US R&B Top 10 entries, with ‘Ask Me What You Want Read more

Shirley Brown - 59% match to O.C. Smith

Chris Kenner - 54% match to O.C. Smith

25 December 1929, Kenner, Louisiana, USA, d. 25 January 1976, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. This New Orleans-based artist had a US Top 20 R&B hit in 1957 on the Imperial Records label with his own composition, ‘Sick And Tired’, a song later revived by Fats Domino. Kenner was one of the first signings to the Instant label, on which he recorded his three best-know Read more

Jay & The Americans - 54% match to O.C. Smith

This US act was formed in 1961 when former Mystics vocalist John ‘Jay’ Traynor (2 November 1938) joined ex-Harbor Lites duo Kenny Rosenberg, aka Kenny Vance, and Sandy Yaguda, aka Sandy Deane. Howie Kane (b. Howard Kerschenbaum) completed the line-up, which in turn secured a recording contract through the aegis of the songwriting and production team, Leiber And Sto Read more

Tyrone Davis - 53% match to O.C. Smith

4 May 1938, Greenville, Mississippi, USA, d. 9 February 2005, Hinsdale, Illinois, USA. One of the great unsung talents of soul music, Davis was a consistent chart-maker for over 20 years. This former Freddie King valet was discovered working in Chicago nightclubs by pianist Harold Burrage, and began recording in 1965 as Tyrone The Wonder Boy. ‘Can I Change My Mind’ Read more

Jimmy Ruffin - 52% match to O.C. Smith

7 May 1939, Collinsville, Mississippi, USA. The son of a minister, Ruffin was born into a musical family: his brother, David Ruffin, and cousin, Melvin Franklin, both became mainstays of the Temptations. Ruffin abandoned his gospel background to become a session singer in the early 60s, joining the Motown Records stable in 1961 for a one-off single before he was drafted for Read more

Lou Johnson - 51% match to O.C. Smith

1941, USA. A singer in the mould of Ben E. King, Johnson was a former member of the Zionettes. Their single ‘Talking About The Man’ enjoyed sufficient local interest to prompt his solo ambitions. Signed to the Big Top/Big Hill group of labels, Johnson recorded a series of superb Burt Bacharach / Hal David compositions, including ‘Reach Out For Me’ (1963) Read more

Howard Tate - 46% match to O.C. Smith

1938, Macon, Georgia, USA. A former member of the Gainors with Garnet Mimms, Tate also sang with Bill Doggett’s band. A solo act by 1962, he (like Mimms) was guided by producer/songwriter Jerry Ragovoy. Between 1966 and 1968, Tate secured four US R&B hits on Verve Records including ‘Ain’t Nobody Home’, ‘Look At Granny Run, Run’ (later covere Read more