Musical oddities: "Oh Babe, What Would You Say" Hurricane Smith (1972)

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Hurricane Smith was 49-years-old when scoring his one and only US hit with “Oh Babe, What Would You Say” charting at Billboard #3. Talk about a midlife career change. The British Smith whose first name was Norman played drums but made his reputation behind the music scenes. He was a prominent sound engineer who worked on the Beatles’ EMI recordings (John Lennon called him “Normal” Smith for his steady demeanor) and turned producer including Pink Floyd’s early albums. Written by his wife Eileen Sylvia Smith, “Oh Babe, What Would You Say” was originally recorded by Cass Elliott for her 1972 album “The Road is No Place for a Lady.” Liza Minnelli covered the song for her 1973 album “The Singer.” Smith recorded his self titled debut album in 1971. Another single “Don’t Let it Die” reached UK #2. “Oh Babe, What Would You Say” caught on despite being an old fashioned sounding love song with a Dixieland feel and sung by Smith’s odd nasally voice. Smith never followed up his initial success and die din 2008.