Frankie Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 29, 1940
Frankie Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Franklyn Leon Smith January 29, 1940 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
| Died | March 8, 2019 (aged 79) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | R&B, soul, funk, disco, old school hip hop |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 1979–2019 |
| Labels | Paramount Records, WMOT Records, Amstate Records |
Franklyn Leon Smith (January 29, 1940[1] – March 8, 2019) was an American funk musician and R&B/soul songwriter. He was best known for his 1981 hit single "Double Dutch Bus".
Smith went to college in Tennessee for elementary education with a minor in music. He became a writer for funk and soul artists such as the O'Jays and The Spinners. In 1972 he would record for Paramount, releasing a single called "Double Dutch" under the name Franklin Franklin, but it failed to become a hit.[2] He was also influential in the careers of the rappers Tone Loc, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg.
With his 1981 single "Double Dutch Bus", released by WMOT Records,[3] Smith popularized a nonsensical form of slang (from his song "Slang thang", 1981 WMOT, Records), in which "iz" is placed in the middle of a word (for example, the word "place" becomes "plizace"), or the last letters of a word are replaced with "-izzle" ("sure" becomes shizzle). A type of infix, it found greater popularity later on in hip hop and rap with its usage by Snoop Dogg.[4]
Death
Smith died in Philadelphia on March 8, 2019, at the age of 79.[5] His death was not widely reported.
