Source Material: Brenton Wood – “Gimme Little Sign”

Brenton Wood is a soul singer who had a few hits in the late ’60s.   He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, but he grew up in San Pedro, California.   In high school, Wood’s musical interest began to form.  He learned how to play the piano, and he started his singing career using his real name Alfred Smith.  In 1958, under Alfred Smith, he started singing with Little Freddie & The Rockets.  They only recorded one single, “All My Love/Too Fat,” and it didn’t make it far.  During this time, Smith began attending Compton College.  Shortly after, Alfred Smith changed his name to Brenton Wood and he went solo.

After college, Wood released a few singles, like “Mr. Schemer” (1963), and “I Want Love” (1966) before he ultimately signed a recording deal with Double Shot Records.  The first song he recorded for Double Shot Records was “The Oogum Boogum Song” (1967).  It was the biggest hit of his career at the time (it peaked at #19 on the Billboard R&B Chart).  His follow-up was even crazier.  He recorded “Gimme Little Sign” (1967) a few months later, it peaked at #9 on the Pop chart and it also sold one million copies.   Sadly, Wood’s late ’60s run came to an end after his last hit “Baby You Got It” (1967) peaked at #34.  He was unable to maintain some of his earlier success, but man, he had a strong year and the potential was certainly there.

Brenton Wood – “Gimme Little Sign”