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Fred Smith



Record producer, song writer Fred Sledge Smith was born in Los Angeles, California on 18 May 1933, the son of singer Effie Smith.  His first song writing success was "Western Movies" by The Olympics (1958). In 1963 he joined Mirwood Records of Los Angeles. He began working with the duo Bob and Earl and co-produced with them "Harlem Shuffle", which was jointly arranged by Barry White and Gene Page. Although not a huge hit in America, it became a hit in the UK when released on the Sue label. He also produced "The Duck" for Jackie Lee (Earl Nelson). In 1967 he left Mirwood and set up his own record label, MoSoul. In the 1970s he and his mother went to work at Stax Records in Memphis, but when Stax closed down in 1975, he left the music business. 

Mr Smith died in Los Angeles, California on 29 July 2005.

Image: Restored by Google

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