Alfred Jesse Smith

Alfred Smith was born to Berneda (Wilson) Smith and Robert Raymond Smith on July 26, 1941, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the seventh of 11 children. The family moved to California when he was a young child, settling in San Pedro and later in Compton. Alfred graduated from Compton High School, where he excelled in track and field. At age seven, he discovered music and instantly fell in love with the piano. After hearing someone playing at a neighborhood recreation center, he decided to teach himself. Alfred spent hours each day at that piano. By the time he was 12, he knew he wanted to be in the music business. He continued to hone his skills on the piano and began writing jingles, while working full-time at a cannery.

At fifteen, Alfred made his first commercial recordings. By his early twenties, he was a signed artist producing several songs a year. He soon adopted the stage name Brenton Wood and secured his first major songwriting contract with Double Shot Records. He often cited Sam Cooke and Jesse Belvin as primary inspirations, but early on developed his own unmistakable, upbeat sound. Alfred achieved much success throughout his career. After his initial fame during the 1960s, he reimaged his music and helped spearhead the oldies-but-goodies movement in the 1980s and 1990s. Alfred’s career spanned seven decades and took him around the world. He appeared on various television programs like American Bandstand, The Real Don Steele Show, The Joey Bishop Show, and even the Dating Game. Alfred earned gold records for his songs, “The Oogum Boogum Song” and “Gimme Little Sign.”

Although Alfred’s first love was music, he had a passion for cooking, fishing, old cars, watching basketball, football, CNN, and MSNBC. He cherished time spent with family and friends. Alfred’s family has long found strength in its Christian faith and values, supporting and surrounding him with love at all times. Alfred took these values to heart. In fact, he attributed much of his success to learning how to hustle from an early age, to help out at home. In his own words, he had to use ‘ingenuity,’ so naturally his favorite topic of conversation was money, and how to hold onto it!

Although Alfred recognized the potential of holding concerts at desert casinos in the early 2000s, and decided to move to the Inland Empire, settling in Moreno Valley in 2003, he loved to perform in all venues: car shows, cruise ships, parades, casinos, fundraisers, even more traditional settings like the Microsoft Theatre and the famed Greek Theatre. Recent health challenges failed to slow his pace, as he continued to tour and to give and receive love from his legion of fans.

Alfred married twice and had four children: Ailetra, Marilyn, Trammell and Brandon. He departed this world on January 3, 2025. Predeceasing Alfred were his parents, Robert and Berneda, brothers Benny, Robert Jr (“Lefty”), and Sterling, sisters Delma, Emma, and Gloria, daughter Ailetra, and son Trammell. He leaves to cherish his memory sisters Beverly Powdrill, Delores Thompson, and Dorothy Henderson, brother Terry Smith, daughter Marilyn, son Brandon, grandsons Brandon and Alexander, granddaughter Nika, and many nephews, nieces, friends and fans.

Truly, Alfred never will be gone, he’ll just ‘Catch You On the Rebound!’