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companies, record labels, and promotion companies besides LeCam, including Charay
Records and LeBill Music Inc., logging some 3,000 releases over his 30-year career and garnering four gold and one platinum record awards. He also preached and raised funds for charity at the Union Gospel Mission in
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There is some uncertainty over details of his life, and he has been described as "a relentless self-promoter who seemed disinclined to let the facts get in the way of a good story". He left the military in 1959, but used the designation Major in all his later dealings. He set up the LeCam record
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LeCam, LeBill, Charay, Soft, Austin, Bayou, Billie Fran, Bix
International, Black Sheep, Bobill, Brownfield, Campo, Christi, Country Disco!, International Sounds, Jade, Jenko, Karat, Lanar, Maridene, Pastel, Psycho-Suavé, Robbie, Shah, Shalimar, Sultan, Tamara, Tiris, Titanic 80, Troy, Twinkle,
247:. On that and other records, Smith's assistant Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery has also been credited as producer. The following year, Smith was approached by college students Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson, and recorded the duo immediately on hearing their song. As "
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navigator, he flew combat missions over
Germany, and was wounded during his 33rd mission. He retired as a Major and after the war he became a
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label and production company in Fort Worth with George
Campbell; the name derived from that of Smith's wife Letitia, and Campbell.
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in 1964. Other acts produced by Smith included Larry & the Blue Notes, Bobby Skel (Skelton),
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In later years, he achieved some notoriety for circulating tapes which he claimed proved that
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had not died in 1977 but was still alive. In 1983 Smith initiated a legal action against
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231:(later known as John Denver), his first national success came in 1962 as producer of
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After several local hits, and reputedly turning down a young singer named
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132:(January 21, 1922 – September 12, 1994), known as
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United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
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and others. His first success came as the writer of
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labels, as well as producing some records himself by
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605:Evans, Christopher (17 July 1990). "The Major".
561:"Major Smith Flies High Over His Music Empire"
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657:"Obituary - Major William (Bill) A. Smith".
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220:' 1956 hit, "Twenty Feet of Muddy Water".
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471:"Smith Snares Platinum Discs for "Paula""
458:A History of the Texas Recording Industry
325:The Hits & Misses of Major Bill Smith
415:Texas Music Office: Texas Music Pioneers
589:"The Mysterious Death of Elvis Presley"
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331:Texas Gold as Mined by Major Bill Smith
140:, publisher, promoter, songwriter, and
446:, Texas A&M University Press, 2012
309:Smith died in Texas in 1994, aged 72.
239:", on which one of Smith's protégés,
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711:20th-century American businesspeople
611:(Circa '90 ed.). pp. 1, 5.
180:and being posted to England. As a
696:American music industry executives
622:"'Is Elvis Alive?' - a timeline",
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261:J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers
663:. 14 September 1994. p. 38.
200:, promoting records on Robey's
701:People from Checotah, Oklahoma
691:Record producers from Oklahoma
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269:The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
178:United States Army Air Forces
298:along with two other books,
444:The Handbook of Texas Music
176:factory before joining the
160:, and grew up listening to
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442:Laurie E. Jasinski (ed.),
624:Elvis Information Network
292:Elvis Presley Enterprises
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660:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
608:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
348:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
647:. Retrieved 2 June 2014
645:Cornslaw.blogspot.co.uk
627:. Retrieved 2 June 2014
595:. Retrieved 2 June 2014
425:. Retrieved 2 June 2014
304:Memphis Mystery Part II
190:Carswell Air Force Base
706:Charay Records artists
344:He's a Grand Old Flack
300:Memphis Mystery Part I
35:Background information
278:Smith set up several
111:Mid-1950s–1980s
641:by Major Bill Smith"
313:Selected discography
130:William Arthur Smith
45:William Arthur Smith
512:. November 26, 1994
480:. November 16, 1963
456:Gary Hickinbotham,
568:Billboard Magazine
539:Billboard Magazine
510:Billboard Magazine
421:2016-03-04 at the
229:John Deutschendorf
158:Checotah, Oklahoma
136:, was an American
73:September 12, 1994
63:Checotah, Oklahoma
570:. August 19, 1972
241:Delbert McClinton
194:Fort Worth, Texas
146:Fort Worth, Texas
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186:public relations
170:Second World War
134:Major Bill Smith
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60:January 21, 1922
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259:", recorded by
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156:He was born in
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138:record producer
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91:Record producer
82:, United States
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532:"Inside Track"
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321:(Le Cam 1835A)
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273:Gene Summers
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166:gospel music
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142:record label
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107:Years active
99:record label
75:(1994-09-12)
686:1994 deaths
681:1922 births
639:Elvis Lives
460:, 2004, p.9
389:"45cat.com"
319:Elvis Lives
296:Elvis Lives
218:Sonny James
188:officer at
675:Categories
394:2018-11-09
374:2018-12-03
355:References
214:Joe Hinton
168:. In the
95:songwriter
56:1922-01-21
41:Birth name
257:Last Kiss
249:Hey Paula
245:harmonica
243:, played
237:Hey! Baby
198:Don Robey
152:Biography
503:"Deaths"
419:Archived
235:'s hit "
574:May 27,
545:May 27,
516:May 27,
484:May 27,
212:singer
210:R&B
206:Peacock
162:country
271:, and
174:bomber
116:Labels
564:(PDF)
535:(PDF)
506:(PDF)
474:(PDF)
120:Zuma.
101:owner
576:2019
547:2019
518:2019
486:2019
302:and
204:and
202:Duke
182:B-17
164:and
70:Died
50:Born
192:in
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54:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
