Brenton Wood

Alfred Jesse Smith (July 26, 1941 – January 3, 2025), known professionally as Brenton Wood, was an American singer and songwriter. Three 1967 singles of Wood's, "The Oogum Boogum Song" (peaking at No. 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100), "Gimme Little Sign" (reached No. 9), and "Baby You Got It" (also peaking at No. 34) were hits.

Alfred Jesse Smith was born in Shreveport in northwest Louisiana on July 26, 1941. The family moved to San Pedro in Los Angeles when Smith was a child. He attended San Pedro High School for part of his first year of high school and then moved to Compton, where he became a member of the Compton High School track team and received several awards for his athletic achievements.

After graduating, Smith enrolled in East Los Angeles College. Soon after, he took the stage name of Brenton Wood, possibly inspired by the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was influenced by Jesse Belvin's and Sam Cooke's music. He began writing while also becoming a pianist.

Wood's novelty song "The Oogum Boogum Song" was released on Double Shot Records, and reached No. 19 on the US Billboard R&B chart and No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1967. Wood's biggest hit came a few months later, as "Gimme Little Sign" hit No. 9 on the pop chart, No. 19 on the R&B charts and No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart. The record sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Wood's "Baby You Got It" (1967) peaked at No. 34 on the Hot 100 during the last week of 1967. His backing band during the 1960s was the LA-based Kent and The Candidates, which was led by drummer Kent Sprague. They also recorded several singles for the Double Shot label.

In 1972, Wood formed his own record label and released, co-produced and co-wrote the track "Sticky Boom Boom Part I and II" with collaborators George Semper (co-producer, arranger) and Al McKay (co-writer, performer) of Earth, Wind & Fire fame. Wood also recorded a duet with Shirley Goodman.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.