Claydes Charles Smith
{{Short description|American musician}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Claydes Charles Smith
| birth_name = Claydes Eugene Smith
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1948|9|6}}
| birth_place = Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|6|20|1948|9|6}}
| death_place = Maplewood, New Jersey, U.S.
| genre = R&B
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = Guitar
| years_active = 1964-2006
| past_member_of = Kool & the Gang
}}
Claydes "Charles" Smith (born Claydes Eugene Smith;{{cite web|url=https://billiongraves.de/grave/CLAYDES-EUGENE-SMITH/5586479|title=BillionGraves - Claydes Eugene Smith|publisher=billiongraves.de|accessdate=3 December 2021}} September 6, 1948 – June 20, 2006) was an American musician best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang.
Biography
= Early life =
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was introduced to jazz guitar by his father in the early 1960s.
= Kool & the Gang =
{{Main articles|Kool & the Gang}}
In the late 1960s, he joined with Ronald Bell (later Khalis Bayyan), Robert "Kool" Bell, George Brown, Dennis Thomas and Robert "Spike" Mickens to become Kool & the Gang. His cool jazz stylings and octave runs, reminiscent of Wes Montgomery but uniquely his own, enriched the music of the group. His playing on the hit "Summer Madness" is a fine example of his work.
Kool & the Gang blended jazz, funk, R&B, and pop. The group remained popular from the 1960s through the 1980s.{{cite web
|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/22/entertainment/e125117D41.DTL
|title=Charles Smith, Kool & the Gang guitarist, dies at 57
|work=SFGate.com
|accessdate=2006-06-23
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819013656/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2006%2F06%2F22%2Fentertainment%2Fe125117D41.DTL
|archivedate=2006-08-19
|url-status=dead
}}
Smith stopped touring in January 2006 due to illness.
In 2024, Smith was posthumously selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Kool & the Gang.{{cite web |title=2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees |url=https://rockhall.com/2024-inductees/ |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=22 April 2024 |date=22 April 2024}}
= Personal life and death =
Smith's family included six children: Claydes A. Smith, Justin Smith, Aaron Corbin, August Williams, Uranus Smith-Garay, and Tyteen Humes. He died in Maplewood, New Jersey, on June 20, 2006, aged 57. He is buried in Westfield, New Jersey's Fairview Cemetery.
Discography
{{Main articles|Kool & the Gang discography}}
= Studio albums =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Album |
| 1969 |
| rowspan="2" |1972 |
| Good Times |
| 1973 |
| 1974 |
| 1975 |
| rowspan="2" |1976 |
| Open Sesame |
| 1977 |
| 1978 |
| 1979 |
| 1980 |
| 1981 |
| 1982 |
| 1983 |
| 1984 |
| 1986 |
| 1989 |
| 1992 |
| 1996 |
| 2001 |
| 2004 |
= Live albums =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Album |
| rowspan="2" |1971 |
| Live at PJ's |
| 1998
|Greatest Hits Live |
| 2002
|Too Hot Live |
= Singles =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Single |
| rowspan="3" |1969
|"Kool and the Gang" |
| "The Gang's Back Again" (A-side) |
| "Kool's Back Again" (B-side) |
| rowspan="3" |1970
|"Kool It (Here Comes The Fuzz)" |
| "Let the Music Take Your Mind" |
| "Funky Man" |
| rowspan="3" |1971
|"Who's Gonna Take the Weight (Part One)" |
| "I Want to Take You Higher" |
| "N.T. Part I" |
| rowspan="4" |1972
|"Love the Life You Live, Part I" |
| "Music Is the Message (Part 1)" |
| "Funky Granny" |
| "Good Times" |
| rowspan="3" |1973
|"Country Junky" |
| "Funky Stuff" |
| "Jungle Boogie" |
| rowspan="3" |1974 |
| "Higher Plane" |
| "Rhyme Tyme People" |
| rowspan="3" |1975
|"Spirit of the Boogie" (A-side) |
| "Summer Madness" (B-side) |
| "Caribbean Festival" |
| rowspan="3" |1976
|"Love and Understanding (Come Together)" |
| "Universal Sound" |
| "Open Sesame - Part 1" |
| 1977
|"Super Band" |
| rowspan="4" |1978
|"Slick Superchick" |
| "A Place in Space" |
| "I Like Music" |
| "Everybody's Dancin'" |
| rowspan="2" |1979 |
| "Too Hot" |
| rowspan="2" |1980
|"Hangin' Out" |
| "Celebration" |
| rowspan="5" |1981
|"Take It to the Top" |
| "Jones vs. Jones" |
| "Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" |
| "Steppin' Out" |
| "Get Down on It" |
| rowspan="4" |1982
|"No Show" |
| "Big Fun" |
| "Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La, La, La)" |
| "Hi De Hi, Hi De Ho" |
| rowspan="3" |1983
|"Street Kids" |
| "Straight Ahead" |
| "Joanna" |
| rowspan="4" |1984
|"Tonight" |
| "(When You Say You Love Somebody) In the Heart" |
| "Fresh" |
| "Misled" |
| rowspan="2" |1985
|"Cherish" |
| "Emergency" |
| 1986
|"Victory" |
| rowspan="4" |1987
|"Stone Love" |
| "Holiday" |
| "Special Way" |
| "Peace Maker" |
| rowspan="3" |1988
|"Rags to Riches" |
| "Strong" |
| "Celebration" (remix) |
| rowspan="2" |1989
|"Raindrops" |
| "Never Give Up" |
| 1991
|"Get Down on It" (remix) |
| 1992
|"(Jump Up on The) Rhythm and Ride" |
| 1996
|"Salute to the Ladies" |
| 2003
|"Ladies Night" (with Atomic Kitten) |
| rowspan="3" |2004 |
| "Too Hot" (with Lisa Stansfield) |
| "Get Down on It" (with Blue & Lil' Kim) |
| rowspan="2" |2005
|"Hollywood Swinging" (with Jamiroquai) |
| "No Show" (featuring Blackstreet) |
| 2006
|"Steppin' into Love" |
Awards and nominations
{{awards table}}
!{{Abbr|Ref.|References}}
|-
|align=center|1975
|Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance
|{{nom}}
|-
|align=center|1979
|"Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)"
|Grammy Award for Album of the Year
|{{won}}
|-
{{end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Kool & the Gang}}
{{2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|state=collapsed}}
{{Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1970s}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Claydes Charles}}
Category:American funk guitarists
Category:American male guitarists
Category:Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
Category:Kool & the Gang members
Category:African-American guitarists
Category:20th-century American musicians
Category:Guitarists from New Jersey
Category:20th-century American guitarists