Myrna Smith, Member of the Sweet Inspirations, Dies at Age 69
On Christmas Eve, December 24th, 69-year-old Myrna Smith died in a hospital in Los Angeles. The singer was one of the original members of the Sweet Inspirations, who in the seventies served as background singers for Elvis Presley.
In 1965, Myrna Smith joined the Sweet Inspirations, founded by Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney Houston and sister of Dionne Warwick. In 1967 they recorded background vocals for the Van Morrison hit "Brown Eyed Girl".
In 1968 they had a #5 U.S. R&B and #18 U.S. Pop hit with "Sweet Inspiration", which led to Elvis Presley requesting them to join him in his live comeback shows.
In the 1970s onward, Smith made a career for herself as a songwriter. She worked with, among others, ex-Beach Boy Carl Wilson. In 2010 she toured with "Elvis: In Concert" in Europe. The show reunited former Elvis band mates live on stage with a state of the art video-projected Elvis.
In March 2010, while on tour, Myrna developed pneumonia. Once back in the U.S., her condition continued to deteriorate, as she suffered kidney failure, further complicated by a severe stroke. She was confined to her bed since October.
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I had the good fortune to have met and had dinner with Ms. Myrna Smith once in California. She showed a great deal of reguard for Elvis and we spoke at length about her career with him and the "Sweets"...she was a very kind and generous person to take that time to speak with me.
ReplyDeleteI was also fortunate to have a picture taken with her that evening...I always will treasure that picture and the memory of the time I spent speaking with this great and talented lady, singer, song writer, person.
May God rest her soul and his angels carry her back to Elvis and to her loved ones, which were called by the Lord, ahead of her.
I will miss you dear Myrna....my condolences to her family and friends and may she forever rest in peace.
In sorrow,
RayVis
(Elvis Tribute Artist)
Oregon, USA
TCB & TLC