Cliff Goldsmith was an American composer and music producer who had success in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Background
Cliff Goldsmith was born on 10 May 1925 in Watts and went to school there, graduating from USC. He saw active service during WWII. He entered into music production and co-produced The Olympics, an R&B Group with Fred Smith. Songs he co-wrote include, "
Hully Gully" and "
Western Movies
The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Californi ...
" etc.
He was one of the principals of
Vault Records in the 1960s.
Career
It was reported by ''Cash Box'' in the magazine's 30 August 1958 issue that Cliff Goldsmith had left Keen Records where he was an A&R man. He left his post to dedicate his time to his publishing and songwriting company, Smith-Goldsmith.
In 1958, The Olympics came into contact with Goldsmith and Fred Smith via
Jesse Belvin
Jesse Lorenzo Belvin (December 15, 1932 – February 6, 1960) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s. Belvin co-wrote the 1954 Penguins' doo-wop classic " Earth Angel", which sold more than 10 million copies, while h ...
. The duo suggested to the group that they record "Western Movies". The song made the Top 20 on LA's top 20 on KFWB. It also got to the national Top Ten in September. They also wrote "(I Wanna) Dance with the Teacher" and "
Hully Gully" which were hits for the Olympics.
Goldsmith and Smith co-wrote "Patti Ann" which became a hit for
Johnny Crawford
John Ernest Crawford (March 26, 1946 – April 29, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He first performed before a national audience as a Mouseketeer. At age 12, Crawford rose to prominence playing Mark McCain in the series ''The Rifleman ...
ion 1961, making it to no. 43 nationally.
Goldsmith produced "
Call Me" for
The Chambers Brothers
The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 psychedelic soul hit " Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions ...
, an original composition written by
Joe and
Willie
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Allen (basketball) (born 1949), American basketball player and ...
of the group. "Call Me" was performed on ''
Hollywood a Go Go'' on 26 June 1965.
Goldsmith and fellow
Vault Records principals, Ralph Kaffel and Jack Lewerke were pictured with
Bell Records
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benn ...
president Larry Utal as they were sealing a deal for Vault product to be distributed by Bell worldwide, on the Taurus and Elkay labels.
Goldsmith produced both sides of the
Leon Haywood single, "Baby Reconsider" / "Goin' Back To New Orleans" that was released in 1967.
Death
Goldsmith died at age 66 at Burbank Hospital on 14 June 1991.
[''The Los Angeles Times'', June 22, 1991 ]
Cliff Goldsmith; Retired Music Producer
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Cliff
Songwriters from California
Record producers from California
1991 deaths