Brenton Wood, a soul singer who rose to fame with his 1967 hit “The Oogum Boogum Song,” has died. He was 83.
Wood passed away on Friday, Jan. 3 at his home in Moreno Valley, California, surrounded by family and friends, his manager and assistant, Manny Gallegos told TMZ, which was among the first outlets to report on the musician’s death.
No official cause of death was released.
Related: Duke Fakir Dies: Original Four Tops Member was 88
The singer was born Alfred Jesse Smith in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1941.
According to his website, his family moved to the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles when he was a child, and later settled in Compton, California.
He learned to play the piano at an early age and attended Compton College.
The young musician adopted the stage name of Brenton Wood — reportedly fashioned after L.A.’s posh Brentwood area — became a songwriter, and drew inspiration from Jesse Belvin and Sam Cooke.
After signing with Double Shot Records, Wood landed a hit single in 1967 with “The Oogum Boogum Song,” which reached number 19 on the R&B charts and number 34 on the pop charts, his website said.
That same year, his singles “Gimme Little Sign” and “Baby You Got It” also climbed the charts.
His music was used on TV shows, films and sampled in rap music.
In 2014, Wood appeared on the California State University Fullerton show In Focus, and discussed his early hits.
“No one would write songs specifically for me,” he said, “but once I learned to write songs, that’s when I became more successful.”
Wood continued to perform for decades and in 2022, he was part of a Super Legends Cruise, according to his website.
Watch a Brenton Wood performance below:
