Fred Smith

Writer of 'Western Movies'

As western series such as Gunsmoke, Davy Crockett and Maverick began dominating TV schedules in the 1950s, the novelty record "Western Movies" by the Los Angeles vocal group the Olympics, caught the public imagination, reaching the Top Twenty on both sides of the Atlantic in 1958.

The song had been co-written and produced by Fred Smith and his business partner Cliff Goldsmith, and the pair wrote several follow-up singles for the Olympics, such as "(I Wanna) Dance With the Teacher", "(Baby) Hully Gully", "Private Eye" and "Little Pedro". Smith also produced their "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" which charted in Britain in 1961.

Smith worked with Bob and Earl (Bobby Garrett and Earl Cosby), co-producing their R&B hit "Harlem Shuffle"; and also wrote and produced for acts like Jackie Lee, the Belles, the Mirettes and Jimmy Thomas. Many of his songs became Mod favourites in the Sixties and were subsequently revived on the British Northern Soul scene of the Seventies.

Born in 1933, Fred Sledge Smith was the son of the singer and comedienne Effie Smith. She married the songwriter and comedian John L. Criner and together, the couple ran various record labels. They also managed the Olympics and were therefore ideally placed to make sure the quartet recorded "Western Movies", the novelty tune written by Fred Smith and his friend Cliff Goldsmith.

The Olympics appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand to promote "Western Movies" and it became an instant smash. While many black groups struggled to break out of the R&B market, the Olympics scored an impressive run of 14 US Top 100 entries, and Smith worked with them consistently.

Smith and the arranger James Carmichael created a bouncy sound which can best be described as "Motown manqué" and became very collectable amongst Northern Soul cognoscenti in Britain.

In 1968 Smith launched the record labels Keymen and Mo Soul. He worked briefly alongside his mother at Stax Records before the label closed down, but subsequently became disillusioned with the music industry.

Pierre Perrone