Smith,Sammi Looks Like Stormy Weather 1969-1975 CD

UK collection. Sammi Smith sang soulful, melancholy country music. Her low, distinctively husky voice was built for sad songs, and she has been described as country music's Dusty Springfield. Compiled and annotated by Bob Stanley, "Looks Like Stormy Weather" is a collection built for winter nights. There was a compelling warmth to her voice that should have taken her out of country and into the Hot 100 - or even the UK charts - more than once, but her only real crossover moment came in 1971 when she scored the original hit version of 'Help Me Make It Through The Night'. DJ Ralph Emery recalled being in a motel room with Sammi one night in 1970 where she had sat and played him a whole bunch of Kris Kristofferson songs. At that point, neither the DJ nor Sammi had a clue what was around the corner for her or for her friend Kristofferson, who was then just the janitor at Columbia Records. 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' topped Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart for three weeks in 1971, peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100, won "Single of the Year" and the "Best Country Song" at the CMA awards, and a Grammy for "Best Country Vocal Performance by a Female". Sammi's voice would have been new to most listeners - it's melancholic ache and sensuous depth suited the song's needs perfectly. Now signed to the tiny Mega label, she would record seven albums for them between 1970 and 1975, and the pick of them are the heart of this compilation.

1. I'm in for Stormy Weather 2. Manhattan, Kansas 3. This Room for Rent 4. Saunders' Ferry Lane 5. But You Know I Love You 6. I've Got to Have You 7. Brownville Lumberyard 8. The Good-For-Something Years 9. I Was Just Fifteen 10. Cover Me 11. Birmingham Mistake 12. Jimmy's in Georgia 13. Long Black Veil 14. He Makes It Hard to Say Goodbye 15. Then You Walk in 16. When Michael Calls 17. The Toast of '45 18. I Miss You Most When You're Right Here 19. Sunshine 20. Today I Started Loving You Again 21. He's Everywhere 22. Help Me Make It Through the Night 23. Desperados Waiting for a Train 24. Texas 1947