Photo: Combine Music, Inc. / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Sammi Smith was born on August 5, 1943 in Orange, California, United States and was credited as a singer, songwriter and musician. Sammi Smith died on February 12, 2005 at the age of 61. Awards on record include Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (2007).
My Take
Sammi Smith's voice carries the smell of late nights for me. Her 1971 reading of Kris Kristofferson's Help Me Make It Through the Night was a genuine crossover, and she did it as one of the few women in the rough, male-dominated outlaw country movement. That took nerve. She never chased trends, and her induction into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2007 felt like overdue recognition. I'm always partial to singers who keep their own phrasing instead of bending to fashion, and she was exactly that kind of stubborn, soulful artist.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Sammi Smith
- Name (Japanese)
- サミー・スミス
- Reading
- さみー・すみす
- Born
- August 5, 1943 – February 12, 2005
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Goat
- Origin
- Orange, California, United States
- Occupation
- singer / songwriter / musician
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2007 Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
3. Links
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammi%20Smith
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q547070
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-24
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Sammi Smith born?
Born August 5, 1943.
When did Sammi Smith die?
Died February 12, 2005, aged 61.
Where was Sammi Smith from?
Sammi Smith was from Orange, California, United States.
What did Sammi Smith do?
Sammi Smith worked as singer, songwriter, musician.
Singer — see all → · Songwriter — see all → · More people from the United States →