Frankie Smith Explained

Frankie Smith
Background:solo_singer
Birth Date:January 29, 1953
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Death Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre:R&B, soul, funk, disco, old school hip hop
Occupation:Singer, songwriter
Instruments:Vocals, keyboards
Years Active:1979–2019
Label:Paramount Records, WMOT Records, Amstate Records
Associated Acts:The O'Jays, The Spinners

Franklyn Leon Smith (January 29, 1953[1] – March 8, 2019[2]) was an American funk musician and R&B/soul songwriter. He was best known for his 1981 hit single "Double Dutch Bus".

Career

Smith went to college in Tennessee for elementary education with a minor in music. He became a writer for funk and soul artists such as the O'Jays and The Spinners. In 1972 he would record for Paramount, releasing a single called "Double Dutch" under the name Franklin Franklin, but it failed to become a hit.[3] He was also influential in the careers of the rappers Tone Loc, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg.

With his 1981 single "Double Dutch Bus", released by WMOT Records,[4] Smith popularized a nonsensical form of slang (from his song "Slang thang", 1981 WMOT, Records), in which "iz" is placed in the middle of a word (for example, the word "place" becomes "plizace"), or the last letters of a word are replaced with "-izzle" ("sure" becomes shizzle). A type of infix, it found greater popularity later on in hip hop and rap with its usage by Snoop Dogg.[5]

Death

Smith died in Philadelphia on March 8, 2019.

Discography

Albums

Singles

External links

Notes and References

  1. Indypendent Lens . Apple Podcasts . Indy Smith . January 26, 2020 . 2:35 . May 1, 2021.
  2. News: Chandler . D. L. . Little Known Black History Fact: Frankie Smith . 10 April 2020 . Black America Web . 14 March 2019 . en.
  3. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955 – 2002 . Record Research Inc . 2003 . 0-89820-155-1 . 652.
  4. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p192548/biography|pure_url=yes}} Biography: Frankie Smith]. Hogan. Ed. AMG. May 10, 2010.
  5. News: Crockett . Stephen J. Jr. . Gizoogle.com, the Wizard of Izzle . The Washington Post . March 10, 2005 . May 1, 2021.