Brenton Wood, ’60s Soul Star of ‘Gimme Little Sign’ Fame, Dead at 83

Brenton Wood (Photo from his website)

Brenton Wood, the rhythm and blues singer best known for the consecutive 1967 hits “The Oogum Boogum Song” and “Gimme Little Sign,” died today (Jan. 3, 2025). His death, at 83, was confirmed by several major media outlets, including Variety and the Los Angeles Times.

According to the Variety obituary, “Wood’s manager and assistant, Manny Gallegos, confirmed his death…stating that he died from natural causes and was surrounded by his family at his home in Moreno Valley, Calif.”

The piece also noted that Wood’s last words were “Catch you on the rebound,” a reference to the title of the B-side of another 1967 release, “Baby You Got It.”

All of Wood’s six charting singles were released on the Double Shot label, with both “The Oogum Boogum Song” and “Baby You Got It” reaching #34 on the Billboard singles chart. But it was his second charting hit, ‘Gimme Little Sign,” that fared best, peaking at #9. Three later ’60s releases failed to follow the path to the Top 40 that the others enjoyed.

Wood was born Alfred Jesse Smith in Shreveport, La., on July 26, 1941, but grew up in Los Angeles, where his family moved when he was a child. He engaged in sports during school and attended East Los Angeles College before changing his name to Brenton Wood and undertaking a professional singing career, also accompanying himself on piano.

The Very Best of Brenton Wood

After singles recorded for the Brent and Wand labels failed to chart, Wood signed with Double Shot and released “Oogum Boogum…,” which scored higher on the R&B chart than the general Hot 100, peaking at #19 on the former. As Wood’s Wikipedia entry notes, he never sings the words “Gimme little sign” in the song of that name, instead repeating the line “Gimme some kind of sign.”

Related: What were the other top 40 hits of November 1967?

In the ’70s, with his hitmaking days behind him, Wood launched a record label and became a producer. He continued to record as well but none of his new music found commercial success, until 1977 when he hit #77 on the R&B chart with a cover of the Fleetwoods’ “Come Softly to Me.” He continued to record as late as 2014 and still performed occasionally as of last year.

Watch Brenton Wood perform “The Oogum Boogum Song” on American Bandstand

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Jeff Tamarkin

Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for more than four decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan.

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