Smiley Lewis

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Smiley Lewis
Vocals, guitar
Years active1930s–1960s

Overton Amos Lemons (July 5, 1913 – October 7, 1966),[1] known as Smiley Lewis, was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues singer and guitarist. The music journalist Tony Russell wrote that "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans. He hit on a formula for slow-rocking, small-band numbers like 'The Bells Are Ringing' and 'I Hear You Knocking' only to have Fats Domino come up behind him with similar music with a more ingratiating delivery. Lewis was practically drowned in Domino's backwash."[2]

Life and career

Lemons was born in DeQuincy, Louisiana, a rural hamlet near Lake Charles, to Jeffrey and Lillie Mae Lemons. He was the second of three sons.[3] His mother died while he was a child, and later he named a song[4] and several automobiles after her. In his mid-teens, he hopped a slow-moving freight train with some friends, who jumped off when the train began to speed up. Lewis alone remained on the train, getting off when it reached its stop in New Orleans. He found boarding with a Caucasian family in the Irish Channel neighborhood and eventually adopted their surname, Lewis.[5]

He began playing clubs in the

front teeth. He was often accompanied by the pianist Isidore "Tuts" Washington, with whom he played in Thomas Jefferson's Dixieland band in the mid-1930s. When the band dissolved, Lewis began playing in clubs, earning only tips.[6]

Lewis married Leona Robinson in 1938. The couple lived with her mother until they began having children, when they moved to South Tonti Street, while Lewis worked at manual labor during the day and performed at night. During

Fort Polk, outside Leesville, Louisiana, and serving as the house band at the Boogie Woogie Club. The two formed a trio with the drummer Herman Seals after the war ended and again began playing in clubs in the French Quarter and along Bourbon Street
.

The trio was invited by David Braun to record a session for his DeLuxe Records in 1947, which produced Lewis's debut record, "Here Comes Smiley"

Huey Smith playing the piano.[9]

In an attempt prompted by Imperial Records president Lew Chudd to attract new record buyers in 1957, Lewis recorded pop and country songs. The experiment failed and did nothing to boost Lewis's declining record sales, and he was released from the label. In the early 1960s he performed as an opening act for new performers, including Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas, and Ernie K-Doe, for which he was paid little; he arrived at gigs by taking a city bus. His career rounded out with a brief stint at Okeh Records in 1961 that consisted of one 45-rpm single, produced by Bill "Hoss" Allen in 1964 for Dot Records, and ended with a re-recording of "The Bells Are Ringing" for Loma Records, produced by Allen Toussaint.

Death

Lewis was hospitalized in 1965 with a diagnosis of

ulcer; surgery revealed that he had stomach cancer
. Bartholomew organized a benefit for him at La Ray's on Dryades Street. On October 7, 1966, three days before the benefit, Lewis died, in the arms of his second wife, Dorothy Ester Lemons, whom he had married six months before.

Legacy

None of Lewis's Imperial singles sold more than 100,000 copies, but cover versions of his songs were commercially successful for other artists.[9] Gale Storm's pop version of "I Hear You Knocking" reached the top five on the charts.[10]

number one in the UK[13] and number four in the United States;[14] in this version, Lewis is mentioned in the lyrics, along with Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Huey Smith
.

Lewis's recording of "Shame, Shame, Shame" was used in the

R&B chart. It was covered by the Merseybeats for their EP On Stage in 1964.[1] Aerosmith included it on their blues album, Honkin' on Bobo, released in 2004. The song also provided the title of the fifth episode of the HBO television series Treme, which included a rewritten version of the song with lyrics critical of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina
.

A short clip from "I Hear You Knocking" is included on Buchanan and Goodman's novelty hit, "The Flying Saucer", in which, in an ironic nod to his original stage name, Lewis is referred to as "Laughing Lewis." In 2019, "I Hear You Knocking" as recorded by Lewis, appeared in Martin Scorsese's epic-crime-drama "The Irishman" and is also present on its respective soundtrack album.[15]

Key recordings

See also

  • List of New Orleans blues musicians

References

  1. ^ a b "Smiley Lewis Biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  2. .
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ [2][dead link]
  5. ^ a b "Tee Nah Nah: The Story of Smiley Lewis". Home.earthlink.net. 1966-10-07. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  6. ^ [3] Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ [4] Archived November 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Blue Monday (Legal Title)". Repertoire.bmi.com. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  9. ^ a b "Smiley Lewis Bio | Smiley Lewis Career | MTV". Vh1.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2003. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  10. ^ "Gale Storm Bio | Gale Storm Career | MTV". Vh1.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2004. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  11. .
  12. ^ "Classic Rockin' RnB 45: Smiley Lewis—I Hear You Knocking". Classic45s.com. 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  13. .
  14. ^ "Dave Edmunds". Rockabillyhall.com. 1997-03-21. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  15. ^ "The Irishman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". allmusic.com. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2022-07-28.

External links