Cherry Smith (born Ermine Ortense Bramwell, 22 August 1943 – 24 September 2008) was a backing
vocalist
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
for the original Wailers from 1963 to 1966. She was also called Cherry Green (her half-brother Carlton had that surname).
Early beginnings
Smith was born in the Trench Town district of Kingston. She was nicknamed "Cherry" as a girl due to her light complexion. According to
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 1963, but as she had a full-time job and a child to support, she was unable to attend the group's first recording session, and was replaced by Kelso.
Later career
Smith continued to contribute to recording sessions and sang
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
on several of the later Wailers recordings, including:
* "Lonesome Feeling"
* "There She Goes"
* " What's New Pussycat?"
* "Let The Lord Be Seen In You"
She left the group in late 1966, and moved to
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, in 1969 to work as a
nurse
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
. She moved around the United States, finally settling in
West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...