Slacker Logo

Ernie Smith

Advertisement
Advertisement

Biography

Glenroy Anthony Michael Archangelo Smith, known as Ernie Smith, was born on May 1, 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica. He started his musical career playing guitar in The Vandals band and was nicknamed 'Ernie' after Ernest Ranglin. Ernie Smith's breakthrough came with "Bend Down" in the late 1960s, followed by hits like "Ride on Sammy", "One Dream", and "Pitta Patta". In 1972, he won the Yamaha Music Festival in Japan with "Life Is Just for Living", which was also released as an album. Smith received The Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service in the Field of Music from the Jamaican government in 1973. His song "I Can't Take It" topped the UK Singles Chart in 1975 when recorded by Johnny Nash under the title "Tears on My Pillow". Notable albums include Ernie...Smith, That Is (1972) and For the Good Times (1974). In 2008, he returned with Country Mile, followed by Blessed Man (2009), Closer (2016) and Another Side of Ernie Smith (2025). Ernie Smith died on April 16, 2026, at the age of 80.
Read All Read Less

Albums


Artists Related to
Ernie Smith

Culture

FEATURED

Steel Pulse

FEATURED

Dean Fraser

FEATURED

The Maytones

FEATURED

Tito Simon

FEATURED

Val Bennett

FEATURED

Don Henry

FEATURED

Burning Spear

FEATURED

Carlene Davis

FEATURED

Majek Fashek

FEATURED

Half Pint

FEATURED

Mutabaruka

FEATURED

Pinchers

FEATURED

Ras Michael

FEATURED

The Tamlins

FEATURED

Andrew Tosh

FEATURED

Wailing Souls

FEATURED

Brent Dowe

FEATURED
See All Related Artists

LIVE STREAM... SOCIAL RADIO STREAM...