The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars by Jeremy Simmonds

Author:Jeremy Simmonds
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2012-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

AUGUST

Wednesday 2

Jerome Smith

(Miami, Florida, 18 June 1953)

KC & The Sunshine Band

The Divinyls Blowfly

Here’s a nasty one. The life of Jerome Smith, original rhythm guitarist with disco heavyweights KC & The Sunshine Band, came to an unfortunate end in an accident at his new workplace – a construction site at Florida’s West Palm Beach.

Smith was at founder Harry ‘KC’ Casey’s side when The Sunshine Band came bouncing out of Florida to enjoy unrivalled global success during the seventies. The hits seemed to arrive at the snap of Casey’s fingers: the group enjoyed five number ones in the USA alone, including three in two years with the funky ‘Get Down Tonight’, ‘That’s the Way (I Like It)’ (both 1975) and ‘(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty’ (1976). Jerome Smith’s trademark playing had been present on all these chartbusters, as it had been on George McCrae’s worldwide chart-topper ‘Rock Your Baby’ (1974) – the song that convinced Casey that this was indeed his man. While Casey was in no doubt about Smith’s guitar work, he was less happy with the musician’s increased drug intake – a sore point that eventually cost Smith his place in the group during 1979. Having cleaned himself up, Smith returned to music with outrageous disco artiste Blowfly, for whom he played on many albums: he was also to work with the excellent Australian pop band The Divinyls.

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