Brenton Wooden (born Alfred Jesse Smith, July 26, 1941, Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American singer and songwriter recognized for his two 1967 hit singles, “The Oogum Boogum Track” and “Gimme Little Signal”.
The household moved to San Pedro in Los Angeles, California when Wooden was a toddler. He attended San Pedro Excessive College for a part of his freshman yr earlier than shifting to Compton, the place Brenton grew to become a member of the Compton Excessive College observe crew and obtained a number of awards for his athletic achievements.
Following his highschool commencement, Wooden enrolled in East Los Angeles School. Quickly after, he took the stage title Brenton Wooden, probably impressed by the rich Los Angeles enclave of Brentwood (some sources state that the title is in honor of his “residence county”), with a second potential connection of Bretton Woods. Throughout this era, his musical pursuits started to manifest themselves. He was impressed by Jesse Belvin and Sam Cooke, and he started cultivating his songwriting expertise, additionally turning into a reliable pianist.
Early singles for Brent Data and Wand Data did not chart. Wooden signed with Double Shot Data, and his “The Oogum Boogum Track” reached #19 on the US Billboard R&B chart and #34 on the Billboard Scorching 100 within the spring of 1967. In Southern California, “The Oogum Boogum Track” hit the highest 10 on KGB-FM and #1 on KHJ. Wooden’s largest hit got here a couple of months later, as “Gimme Little Signal” hit #9 on the pop chart, #19 on the R&B charts, #2 on KHJ, and #8 within the UK Singles Chart; offered over a million copies; and was awarded a gold disc. The title just isn’t really sung within the track; the refrain as a substitute repeats “Give Me Some Type of Signal.” Wooden’s “Child You Acquired It” peaked at #34 on the Scorching 100 over the past week of 1967 and #3 on KHJ on 31 January 1968.
Wooden recorded a duet with Shirley Goodman. His subsequent track to succeed in the charts was “Come Softly to Me” in 1977.
He returned once more in 1986 with the album Out of the Woodwork, which included up to date rerecordings of his early hits, together with a number of new tracks, together with the only, “Soothe Me.”
His album This Love Is for Actual got here out in 2001. Amongst his later appearances was in 2006 on the Los Angeles public entry program Thee Mr. Duran Present, the place Wooden and his band carried out a number of of his hit singles. Wiki
