‘60s singer Brenton Wood died at the age of 83 on Jan. 3, his representative confirmed.
Wood – real name Alfred Smith – was best known for three Top 40 hits in 1967, “The Oogum Boogum Song,” “Gimme Little Sign” and “Baby You Got It.”
His manager told Variety that Wood died of natural causes at his home in Moreno Valley, CA., surrounded by his family. He sent a final message to fans, saying: “Catch you on the rebound,” a reference to another 1967 song.
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Wood released nine albums between 1967 and 2009 and continued working until last year. He’d been partway through his farewell tour when it was postponed in May for health reasons. “The Oogum Boogum Song” has been used on TV and in movies, notably in The Umbrella Academy, Almost Famous, Don’t Worry Darling and a commercial for Italian candy Kinder Joy.
“I taught myself piano by watching this other person play… picking it up and taking it a step further,” Wood recalled in a 2004 interview with Classic Bands. “I started getting into those songs that were on the radio [and] I started copying them.
“Then I had to study what the hell they were talking about… I started singing along with my playing. After I started playing, I started having girlfriend problems. So, I started writing about that stuff.”
Brenton Wood Earned More At Steel Mill than From Songwriting
He said he’d had a songwriting contract from 1957 onward, although it didn’t pay enough for him to quit work in a metal factory. “I was starting to get paid pretty good to run those heavy equipment machines,” he said.
When “Gimme Little Sign” became a hit, it made a “drastic change” to his life. “I went from working in the steel mill to out on the road… I was on the same bill with The Young Rascals, Gladys Knight and The Pips, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson [and] I had shows with Janis Joplin, Big Brother and The Holding Company.
I did the Dick Clark TV show a lot. I did a tour with six guys pulling a U-Haul in a station wagon. We had six weeks on the road – this was the time when there were riots in different states – from L.A. to the Midwest.”
Watch Brenton Wood Perform ‘The Oogum Boogum Song’
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