Claydes Charles Smith Explained

Claydes Charles Smith
Birth Name:Claydes Eugene Smith
Birth Date:6 September 1948
Birth Place:Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Death Place:Maplewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Genre:R&B
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Guitar
Years Active:1964-2006
Past Member Of:Kool & the Gang

Claydes "Charles" Smith (born Claydes Eugene Smith;[1] September 6, 1948  - June 20, 2006) was an American musician best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang.

Biography

Early life

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was introduced to jazz guitar by his father in the early 1960s.

Kool & the Gang

See main article: articles. In the late 1960s, he joined with Ronald Bell (later Khalis Bayyan), Robert "Kool" Bell, George Brown, Dennis Thomas and Robert "Spike" Mickens to become Kool & the Gang. His cool jazz stylings and octave runs, reminiscent of Wes Montgomery but uniquely his own, enriched the music of the group. His playing on the hit "Summer Madness" is a fine example of his work.

Kool & the Gang blended jazz, funk, R&B, and pop. The group remained popular from the 1960s through the 1980s.[2]

Smith stopped touring in January 2006 due to illness.

Personal life and death

Smith's family included six children: Claydes A. Smith, Justin Smith, Aaron Corbin, August Williams, Uranus Smith-Garay, and Tyteen Humes. He died in Maplewood, New Jersey, on June 20, 2006, aged 57. He is buried in Westfield, New Jersey's Fairview Cemetery.

Discography

See main article: articles.

Studio albums

YearAlbum
1969Kool and the Gang
1972Music Is the Message
Good Times
1973Wild and Peaceful
1974Light of Worlds
1975Spirit of the Boogie
1976Love & Understanding
Open Sesame
1977The Force
1978Everybody's Dancin'
1979Ladies' Night
1980Celebrate!
1981Something Special
1982As One
1983In the Heart
1984Emergency
1986Forever
1989Sweat
1992Unite
1996State of Affairs
2001Gangland
2004

Live albums

YearAlbum
1971Live at the Sex Machine
Live at PJ's
1998Greatest Hits Live
2002Too Hot Live

Singles

YearSingle
1969"Kool and the Gang"
"The Gang's Back Again" (A-side)
"Kool's Back Again" (B-side)
1970"Kool It (Here Comes The Fuzz)"
"Let the Music Take Your Mind"
"Funky Man"
1971"Who's Gonna Take the Weight (Part One)"
"I Want to Take You Higher"
"N.T. Part I"
1972"Love the Life You Live, Part I"
"Music Is the Message (Part 1)"
"Funky Granny"
"Good Times"
1973"Country Junky"
"Funky Stuff"
"Jungle Boogie"
1974"Hollywood Swinging"
"Higher Plane"
"Rhyme Tyme People"
1975"Spirit of the Boogie" (A-side)
"Summer Madness" (B-side)
"Caribbean Festival"
1976"Love and Understanding (Come Together)"
"Universal Sound"
"Open Sesame - Part 1"
1977"Super Band"
1978"Slick Superchick"
"A Place in Space"
"I Like Music"
"Everybody's Dancin'"
1979"Ladies' Night"
"Too Hot"
1980"Hangin' Out"
"Celebration"
1981"Take It to the Top"
"Jones vs. Jones"
"Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)"
"Steppin' Out"
"Get Down on It"
1982"No Show"
"Big Fun"
"Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La, La, La)"
"Hi De Hi, Hi De Ho"
1983"Street Kids"
"Straight Ahead"
"Joanna"
1984"Tonight"
"(When You Say You Love Somebody) In the Heart"
"Fresh"
"Misled"
1985"Cherish"
"Emergency"
1986"Victory"
1987"Stone Love"
"Holiday"
"Special Way"
"Peace Maker"
1988"Rags to Riches"
"Strong"
"Celebration" (remix)
1989"Raindrops"
"Never Give Up"
1991"Get Down on It" (remix)
1992"(Jump Up on The) Rhythm and Ride"
1996"Salute to the Ladies"
2003"Ladies Night" (with Atomic Kitten)
2004"Fresh" (with Liberty X)
"Too Hot" (with Lisa Stansfield)
"Get Down on It" (with Blue & Lil' Kim)
2005"Hollywood Swinging" (with Jamiroquai)
"No Show" (featuring Blackstreet)
2006"Steppin' into Love"

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards!|-|align=center|1975|Light of Worlds|Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance||rowspan="2"| [3] |-|align=center|1979|"Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)"|Grammy Award for Album of the Year||-

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BillionGraves - Claydes Eugene Smith. billiongraves.de. 3 December 2021.
  2. Web site: Charles Smith, Kool & the Gang guitarist, dies at 57 . SFGate.com . 2006-06-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060819013656/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2006%2F06%2F22%2Fentertainment%2Fe125117D41.DTL . 2006-08-19 . dead .
  3. Web site: Claydes Smith Artist . August 27, 2023 . www.grammy.com.