Jerome Smith (June 18, 1953 – July 28, 2000) – Funky Pants (1972)

The brilliant KC and the Sunshine Band guitarist co-wrote and played on this rare track from his days with the Oceanliners, co-produced by Betty Wright.

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Jerome Smith was an exceptionally talented musician who helped create KC and the Sunshine Band’s upbeat funky sound as their original guitarist.

Born in New York City, Smith and his brother Ronald (who played trumpet) relocated to Miami, Florida and joined the Oceanliners, Betty Wright’s touring band. The group also featured Anthony Turner on bass and Robert “Shotgun” Johnson on drums.

In 1972, Jerome and Ronald co-wrote the upbeat jam “Funky Pants” with legendary, prolific producer Willie Clarke, who co-produced it along with Wright. Released on Henry Stone’s Blue Candle label, one of the many distributed by his T.K. Productions, its B-side was another funky jam, “Cutting Room (Hot Pants).” Today, original copies of this single sell for hundreds of dollars on Discogs.

The Oceanliners became the house band for Henry Stone’s labels, and eventually morphed into KC and the Sunshine Band.

Smith’s guitar work on KC and the Sunshine Band’s early songs like “Do It Good,” the title track to their debut LP, helped craft their upbeat, disco-funk sound that eventually made them one of the best-selling disco groups of the decade. Their first of five singles to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Get Down Tonight” (1975), featured Smith’s instantly recognizable guitar solo, which was recorded at double speed to emulate the sound of a synthesizer.

He also played on all of Blowfly aka Clarence Reid’s classic albums, beginning with his debut album The Weird World of Blowfly (1973).

After the Sunshine Band dissolved around 1985, Smith appeared on Betty Wright’s Sevens LP (1986) and toured with Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos for a brief period, the supergroup that also featured Steve Jordan on drums and Sarah Dash on backing vocals.

In the 1990s, in an unjust development for one of the 70s funk guitar greats, he began working construction. On July 28, 2000, Smith died tragically at age 47 in a West Palm Beach construction site accident when he was crushed by a bulldozer.

#soul #funk #Oceanliners #BettyWright #KC #JeromeSmith