American singer and songwriter (born 1941)
Musical artist
Alfred Jesse Smith (born July 26, 1941),[1] better known as Brenton Wood, is an American singer and songwriter known for his three 1967 hit singles, "The Oogum Boogum Song" (peaking at No. 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100), "Gimme Little Sign" (peaking at No. 9), and "Baby You Got It" (also peaking at No. 34).
Early life
Wood was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States.[2] The family moved to San Pedro in Los Angeles, California, when Wood was a child. He attended San Pedro High School for part of his first year before moving to Compton, where Brenton became a member of the Compton High School track team and received several awards for his athletic achievements.
Following his high school graduation, Wood enrolled in East Los Angeles College. Soon after, he took the stage name Brenton Wood, possibly inspired by the wealthy Los Angeles enclave of Brentwood[2] (some sources state that the name is in honor of his "home county"), with a second possible connection of Bretton Woods. During this period, his musical interests began to manifest themselves. He was inspired by Jesse Belvin and Sam Cooke, and he began cultivating his songwriting skills, also becoming a competent pianist.[1]
Career
Early singles for Brent Records and Wand Records failed to chart. Wood signed with Double Shot Records, and his novelty song "The Oogum Boogum Song"[2] reached No. 19 on the US Billboard R&B chart and No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1967. In Southern California, "The Oogum Boogum Song" hit the top 10 on KGB-FM and No. 1 on KHJ. Wood's biggest hit came a few months later, as "Gimme Little Sign" hit No. 9 on the pop chart,[2] No. 19 on the R&B charts, No. 2 on KHJ, and No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart;[3] sold over one million copies; and was awarded a gold disc.[1] The title is not actually sung in the song; the chorus instead repeats "Give Me Some Kind of Sign". Wood's "Baby You Got It" (1967)[2] peaked at No. 34 on the Hot 100 during the last week of 1967 and No. 3 on KHJ on January 31, 1968. His backing band during the 1960s was the LA-based Kent and The Candidates, which was led by drummer Kent Sprague.[4][5] They also recorded several singles for the Double Shot label.[6][7]
A true music entrepreneur, in 1972 Wood formed his own record label and released, co-produced and co-wrote the Funk Soul classic "Sticky Boom Boom [Too Cold] Part I and II" with collaborators George Semper (co-producer, arranger) and Al McKay (co-writer, performer) of Earth, Wind & Fire fame.[8] Wood recorded a duet with Shirley Goodman.[2] His next solo song to reach the charts was "Come Softly to Me" in 1977.[2]
He returned again in 1986 with the album Out of the Woodwork,[9] which included contemporary re-recordings of his early hits, along with several new tracks, including the single, "Soothe Me."[10] His album This Love Is for Real came out in 2001. Among his later appearances was in 2006 on the Los Angeles public access program Thee Mr. Duran Show, where Wood and his band performed several of his hit singles.[11]
In 2014, he partnered with William Pilgrim & The All Grows Up for a remake of the song "Gimme Little Sign" on their album, Epic Endings.[12]
In 2019, "The Oogum Boogum Song" was used in a commercial for Kinder Joy products.
