This week on March 1st, American singer Gayle McCormick died of cancer at the age of 67. In 1969, the blues-based rock band Smith formed in L.A., and their first album, entitled "A
Group Called Smith," featured McCormick as the primary vocalist. Smith
mainly played and recorded covers of pop and soul songs, and made the Top-5 with a remake of the Burt Bacharach-penned tune "Baby It's You,"charting higher than the previous hit versions by The Shirelles and The Beatles. Selling over a million copies in the summer of '69, it received the gold record award. Smith's version was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's film Death Proof, introducing the tune to a new audience. After Smith disbanded, McCormick went on to record three solo albums in the early '70s. The single "It's a Cryin' Shame" from her eponymous first album was a minor hit for her, reaching #44 on the charts in 1971.
Here's classic footage of some great talent, "Baby It's You."
