Smiley Lewis

Dave Bartholomew repeatedly described Smiley Lewis as a “bad luck singer” on account of the Imperial singles never exceeding 100,000 copies sold. Viewed later, however, Lewis enjoyed notable advantages: he received first-rate backing from New Orleans’ premier studio musicians at Cosimo’s, worked with first-class songs and arrangements supplied by Bartholomew, and left a body of exceptional Crescent City R&B.

Born Overton Lemons, he arrived in the Big Easy during his mid-teens carrying a powerful, resonant voice together with guitar ability. He performed in French Quarter clubs, frequently alongside pianist Tuts Washington and occasionally advertised as “Smiling” Lewis. His local popularity prompted a 1947 DeLuxe Records date that produced the debut 78 “Here Comes Smiley,” yet the release made no impact. Signing with Imperial in 1950 and introducing himself with “Tee-Nah-Nah” marked the beginning of greater activity.

While the New Orleans R&B style intensified through the early 1950s, Lewis grew tougher on “Lillie Mae,” “Ain’t Gonna Do It,” and “Big Mamou.” His initial national success arrived in 1952 with “The Bells Are Ringing,” but peak sales occurred in 1955 via the buoyant “I Hear You Knocking,” whose memorable piano break was supplied by Huey Smith. At that point the supposed misfortune surfaced: pop vocalist Gale Storm appropriated any mainstream prospects by issuing her own sanitized version of the introspective ballad.

Storm avoided the vigorous B-side “Bumpity Bump,” reminiscent of Joe Turner, along with other vigorous mid-1950s Lewis performances such as “Down the Road,” “Lost Weekend,” “Real Gone Lover,” “She’s Got Me Hook, Line and Sinker,” and “Rootin’ and Tootin’.” Backed by the city’s leading instrumentalists—saxophonists Lee Allen, Clarence Hall, and Herb Hardesty—Lewis delivered with full force.

Curiously, Fats Domino achieved stronger results with several Lewis compositions, notably “Blue Monday.” Elvis Presley similarly sanitized the suggestive “One Night” for a major hit, though Lewis’s original had already succeeded in 1956, as had the melodic “Please Listen to Me.” His fiery “Shame, Shame, Shame” appeared on the soundtrack of the 1957 film Baby Doll yet never reached the R&B charts.

Following an extended and reasonably remunerative stay at Imperial, Lewis recorded one single for OKeh in 1961, cut a lone 45 for Dot in 1964 under the supervision of Nashville disc jockey Bill “Hoss” Allen, and concluded his discography with an Allen Toussaint–produced revival of “The Bells Are Ringing” for Loma in 1965. Stomach cancer had by then begun to afflict the previously robust vocalist; he died in autumn 1966, largely overlooked beyond New Orleans.

Subsequent years corrected that oversight. Lewis’s standing among the foremost New Orleans R&B performers of the 1950s now stands secure.