Country Music Singer Cal Smith Dies at 81

Cal Smith -- who enjoyed a rich country career with some of the biggest hits of the 1960s and 1970s, passed away yesterday at his home near Branson, Missouri. He was 81.

Smith's vocals were brought to the attention of Kapp Records, who signed him in 1966. His debut single for the label, "I'll Just Go Home," failed to chart, but his second release, "The Only Thing I Want," hit the Billboard Country Singles chart in January 1967 – peaking at No. 58.

Subsequent releases would fare better for Smith, who left the Tubb show in 1969 – the same year he hit the top-40 for the first time with "Drinking Champagne" (later covered by George Strait). He moved to Decca in 1971, and hit the top ten for the first time with a cover of the Free Movement's "I've Found Someone Of My Own," a No. 4 release from the spring of 1972. By years' end, he would release "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking," a song written by Bill Anderson. It would become his first number one record in March 1973.

As big as that record was, it was nothing compared to his next major hit. "Country Bumpkin," a story song in the classic country tradition, was released in early 1974 – hitting the top in May. It netted him a CMA Award for Single Record of the Year, and also won the Song of the Year trophy for writer Don Wayne, as well.