ABBA

Singer-songwriter who has worked with an eclectic mix of artists including John Conlee, Rita Coolidge, Al Green, Bobby Hebb, Jimi Hendrix, Doug Kershaw, Little Richard, Tracy Nelson, Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Ray Stevens, and Dottie West.

He also led his own groups while in Boston, Massachusetts, and played some pretty high profile parties, including David Kennedy’s eighteenth birthday and private affairs hosted by Sergeant and Eunice Shriver.

In 1977, he was scooped up by House of Gold honcho Bob Montgomery to join his songwriting team. Frequently, he would produce and sing the demos for these songs. One of them was the Larry Henley-Jeff Silbar composition, “Wind Beneath My Wings”, which later turned out to be a massive hit for Bette Midler.

It was not behind the mike, however, that Jim would earn his bread and butter, although he is regarded as a fine vocalist. Instead, he would make a name for himself as a songwriter, co-penning country songs with Steve Pippin and Johnny Slate such as “Your Old Love Letters (Always Get the Better of Me)” which was recorded by John Wesley Ryles. Other compositions in which he had a hand include “Nothing but Love” (with Slate) and “Shotgun Rider” (with Henley and Slate). The latter was recorded by Delbert McClinton.

In 1980, he contributed to a pair of albums, including Razzy Bailey’s self-titled LP and Billy Burnette’s Between Friends, on which he sang backing vocals. He would get his own taste of chart success in the fall of that very same year when his recording of “I Love Women” reached a modest #90 on the Billboard Hot 100. Unlike the songs he wrote, it was more of an R&B number, and still enjoys a nostalgic following.

Perhaps his greatest claim to fame is having been one half of the songwriting team that came up with “Love in the First Degree”, which was the fifth consecutive #1 record issued by the upstart country rock band, Alabama. It was co-written by Tim DuBois and appeared on their Feels So Right album. In 1981, it was nominated for Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. It also went to #1 in Canada and managed #15 on the Billboard singles chart, which was not exactly a hot-bed of country music in 1982.

Jim continued to crank out songs in the 1990s, like “Put Me on a Train Back to Texas”, co-written with Roy Clayborne and Billy Nelson and recorded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson for inclusion on their Clean Shirt LP. He rounded out the cusp of the millennium by collaborating with singer-songwriter Craig Michaels on the CD single, “One in a Billion”.

In 2002, he sang background vocals, along with Bonnie Bramlett, on Billy Reynolds’ Whole Lot of Memories CD. He left behind a whole lot of memories in 2004 when he passed away from cancer of the liver. A CD of Original Demos was released in 2005.

Bobby Smith recordings

Too Many Hearts in the Fire (Tim Dubois/Jim Hurt/Wood Newton)

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