Bette Smith "I'm A Lady" (Nashville North Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Floyd Whitehead & Brien Fisher)
Well, it took a little bit of legwork, but I finally figured out what was going on with this record... At first, this seemed like it was just what it looked like, a slightly kooky but legitimately twangy country set by a housewife from Ohio who had a funny little voice and a way with words. The end. The back cover includes some of the most charming liner notes ever, actually a reprint of a newspaper article relating how teacher-housewife Bette Smith of New Carlisle, Ohio worked up the gumption to record an album of her own music, copyrighted through her own charmingly-named Hope-A-Hit publishing company. Mrs. Smith was a Montessori teacher at a local elementary school, and the article helpfully takes a few paragraphs to explain the Montessori method. The record itself is pretty solid, though there's a strong novelty orientation, notably in the tune "Teachin' Whomper Stomper," where she comedically conveys how tough she could be in the classroom. Mrs. Smith put Rita Abrams to shame with her twangy sensibilities, channelling Loretta Lynn in her brash, uptempo approach, and Brenda Lee with her high, girlish voice. But wait, there's more... Apparently she self-produced this disc as a songwriter's demo, and got a few bites in Nashville: when I was tracking down a few individual songs, Smith's name popped up as the composer on a few tracks by a gal mononymically known as "Margo," who cut a few singles for Chart Records around 1971-72. A quick drop of the needle on those discs made it clear that Bette Smith and Margo were the same person -- who else had that kind of helium-powered chirp? Just when it looked like this gal from Ohio was yet another one of the countless hopefuls who got chewed up by Nashville, I happened to notice that some of Bette Smith's songs were also recorded a few years later by Top Forty countrypolitan star Margo Smith... And wouldn't ya know it? Turns out this was actually Margo Smith's first record, made about four years before she broke through and became a chart-topping artist during the late rhinestone-plated 'Seventies. Who knew? Anyway, I dig this record. It's lively and lighthearted, a fun, enthusiastic romp.
Margo (Sugar Hill Records, 1971) (#SH-015) (7")
A: "I'm A Lady" (c: Bette Smith)
B: "Get Me My Crying Towel" (c: Bette Smith)
(Producer not listed)
I wasn't quite sure who "Margo" was, although I had my suspicions. They proved to be true. So here are the missing links between Bette Smith, the goofy kindergarten teacher and Margo Smith the shiny, come-hither country star. Not long after she self-released her first album on Nashville North, Smith headed to Nashville proper, and cut a brief string of singles for Chart Records and its subsidiary imprint, Sugar Hill. "I'm A Lady" was previously included on her Bette Smith disc, and her next single seems to re-work another song from that first batch. Hedging her bets, the songwriter credits were under her real name, while the Margo persona was still a work in progress.
Margo (Chart Records, 1972) (#CH-5156) (7")
A: "The Animal Song" (c: B. L. Smith)
B: "Ode To A Cheater" (c: B. L. Smith)
(Produced by Cliff Williamson)
Bette Smith (aka Margo) graduated to the main Chart label in 1972, rejiggering one of the songs off her self-released debut LP, transforming it from "Ode To A Confessor" into "Ode To A Cheater." "The Animal Song" is a version of the old "I wanna do like the animals do" nursery school number, with a goofy go-go-delic country-pop arrangement. "Ode" is a more serious offering, but the novelty presentation is probably what held Smith back at this stage in her career. Things worked out in the end, though.
Margo (Chart Records, 1972) (#CH-5180) (7")
A: "What Have I Done? (I'm So Ashamed)" (mono) (c: Bette Smith)
B: "What Have I Done? (I'm So Ashamed)" (stereo) (c: Bette Smith)
(Produced by Don Rice)
Margo Smith "Margo Smith" (20th Century Fox, 1975)
Her major-label debut, which contains her first hit, "There I Said It," which cracked into the Top Ten
Margo Smith "Songbird" (Warner Brothers, 1976) (LP)
Margo Smith "Happiness" (Warner Brothers, 1977) (LP)
Margo Smith "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You" (Warner Brothers, 1978) (LP)
Margo Smith "A Woman" (Warner Brothers, 1979) (LP)
Margo Smith "Just Margo" (Warner Brothers, 1979) (LP)
Margo Smith "Diamonds And Chills" (Warner Brothers, 1980) (LP)
Margo Smith "Ridin' High" (Cammeron Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Richard Cammeron & Brien Fisher)
A lackluster later album... Her first indie release came right on the heels of her last major-label effort, after flagging sales on the Diamonds album. This is a fairly lax effort, with a pick-up band that was competent, but going through the motions... The songs aren't terribly engaging, but that may be as much because of the lackluster musical direction as the material itself. Smith's voice is girlish and thin, and the music, with its soft countrypolitan feel, seems terribly dated in an early '80s landscape that was opening up to the synthesizer-driven sounds coming over from rock and pop. The single, an anti-cheating song called "Either You're Married Or You're Single," made it up to #69 which is impressive for an indie label, but that was about the peak level of all her '80s work. Smith also yodels on a tune or two, which was a little unusual in mainstream country at the time.
Margo Smith "The Best Of The Tennessee Yodeler" (Bermuda Dunes Records, 1985) (LP)
Margo Smith "Margo Smith" (MCA-Dot Records, 1986) (LP)
Margo Smith "The Best Yet" (Playback, 1987) (LP)
Margo Smith "The Soft Side Of Margo" (Cammeron, 1989) (LP)
Margo Smith "Back In The Swing" (Cammeron Records, 1989)
Margo Smith "Just The Beginning" (Homeland Records, 1991)
Another gospel outing...
Margo Smith & Holly "Wishes" (Homeland Records, 1992)
A set of Christian music duets, sung with her daughter Holly... Apparently, they were a popular duo in the Christian scene around this time...
Margo Smith "God's Bigger Than Wall Street" (Homeland Records, 1992)
Margo Smith "Swiss, Cowboy And Country" (Homeland Records)
Margo Smith "God's Bigger Than Wall Street" (Mercy Street Records, 2000)
Margo Smith "On The Road Again" (2003)
Margo Smith & Holly "Nothing To Lose" (Lamon Records, 2005)
Margo Smith was a consistent hitmaker through much of the 1970s and early '80s. In the early '80s she adopted a provocative, sex-kitten image which boosted her album sales, but which became the focus of her public image. Smith, who later became a Christian music singer, abandoned her sexualized look, and soon saw her album sales plummet. Turning to indie labels, Smith eventually found a comfortable niche in the white gospel market, and has made many off-the-radar records, including a number of duets with her daughter Holly. Here's a quick look at her career....
