# Smiley Lewis

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American R&B singer and guitarist (1913–1966)

Smiley Lewis Background information Also known as Smiling Lewis Born Overton Amos Lemons (1913-07-05)July 5, 1913 DeQuincy, Louisiana, U.S. Died October 7, 1966(1966-10-07) (aged 53) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Genres Blues, New Orleans R&B Occupations Musician, songwriter Instruments Vocals, guitar Years active 1930s–1960s

Musical artist

**Overton Amos Lemons** (July 5, 1913 – October 7, 1966),[1] known as **Smiley Lewis**, was an American [New Orleans rhythm and blues](/source/New_Orleans_rhythm_and_blues) singer and guitarist. The [music journalist](/source/Music_journalism) Tony Russell wrote that "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans. He hit on a formula for slow-rocking, small-band numbers like 'The Bells Are Ringing' and '[I Hear You Knocking](/source/I_Hear_You_Knocking)' only to have [Fats Domino](/source/Fats_Domino) come up behind him with similar music with a more ingratiating delivery. Lewis was practically drowned in Domino's backwash."[2]

## Life and career

Lemons was born in [DeQuincy, Louisiana](/source/DeQuincy%2C_Louisiana), a rural hamlet near [Lake Charles](/source/Lake_Charles%2C_Louisiana), to Jeffrey and Lillie Mae Lemons. He was the second of three sons.[3] His mother died while he was a child, and later he named a song[4] and several automobiles after her. In his mid-teens, he hopped a slow-moving [freight train](/source/Freight_train) with some friends, who jumped off when the train began to speed up. Lewis alone remained on the train, getting off when it reached its stop in New Orleans. He found boarding with a white family in the [Irish Channel](/source/Irish_Channel%2C_New_Orleans) neighborhood and eventually adopted their [surname](/source/Surname), [Lewis](/source/Lewis_(surname)).[5]

He began playing clubs in the [French Quarter](/source/French_Quarter) and integrated "tan bars" in the Seventh Ward, at times billed as **Smiling Lewis**, a variation of the [nickname](/source/Nickname) earned by his lack of [front teeth](/source/Front_teeth). He was often accompanied by the pianist [Isidore "Tuts" Washington](/source/Tuts_Washington), with whom he played in Thomas Jefferson's Dixieland band in the mid-1930s. When the band dissolved, Lewis began playing in clubs, earning only tips.[6]

Lewis married Leona Robinson in 1938. The couple lived with her mother until they began having children, when they moved to South Tonti Street, while Lewis worked at manual labor during the day and performed at night. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), he joined Washington again, this time with Kid Ernest Molière's band, entertaining soldiers stationed at [Fort Polk](/source/Fort_Polk), outside [Leesville, Louisiana](/source/Leesville%2C_Louisiana), and serving as the house band at the Boogie Woogie Club. The two formed a trio with the [drummer](/source/Drummer) Herman Seals after the war ended and again began playing in clubs in the French Quarter and along [Bourbon Street](/source/Bourbon_Street).

The trio was invited by David Braun to record a session for his DeLuxe Records in 1947, which produced Lewis's debut record, "Here Comes Smiley"[7] ([Papa John Joseph](/source/Papa_John_Joseph) replaced Seals and played [bass](/source/Double_bass) at this session). The single "Turn On Your Volume" was a local [jukebox](/source/Jukebox) hit, but DeLuxe requested no more material and left two other recorded sides unreleased. An invitation from [Dave Bartholomew](/source/Dave_Bartholomew), who grew up in the same neighborhood as Lewis and was then beginning a career as a [producer](/source/Record_producer) with [Imperial Records](/source/Imperial_Records), led to a recording session for the trio in March 1950, at which they recorded the song "Tee Nah Nah". Lewis had his first national [hit](/source/Hit_record) song with "The Bells Are Ringing" in 1952.[8] He was the first to record Bartholomew's song "[Blue Monday](/source/Blue_Monday_(Fats_Domino_song))", in 1954;[8] [Fats Domino](/source/Fats_Domino)'s recording of the song was a hit two years later.[9][5] In 1955 he achieved his biggest sales with "[I Hear You Knocking](/source/I_Hear_You_Knocking)", the first recording of the song (written by Bartholomew and Pearl King), with [Huey Smith](/source/Huey_Smith) playing the piano.[8][10]

In an attempt prompted by Imperial Records president [Lew Chudd](/source/Lew_Chudd) to attract new record buyers in 1957, Lewis recorded [pop](/source/Pop_music) and [country](/source/Country_music) songs. The experiment failed and did nothing to boost Lewis's declining record sales, and he was released from the label. In the early 1960s he performed as an opening act for new performers, including [Lee Dorsey](/source/Lee_Dorsey), [Irma Thomas](/source/Irma_Thomas), and [Ernie K-Doe](/source/Ernie_K-Doe), for which he was paid little; he arrived at gigs by taking a city bus. His career rounded out with a brief stint at [Okeh Records](/source/Okeh_Records) in 1961 that consisted of one 45-rpm single, produced by [Bill "Hoss" Allen](/source/Bill_%22Hoss%22_Allen) in 1964 for [Dot Records](/source/Dot_Records), and ended with a re-recording of "The Bells Are Ringing" for Loma Records, produced by [Allen Toussaint](/source/Allen_Toussaint).

## Death

Lewis was hospitalized in 1965 with a diagnosis of [ulcer](/source/Peptic_ulcer); surgery revealed that he had [stomach cancer](/source/Stomach_cancer). Bartholomew organized a benefit for him at La Ray's on Dryades Street. On October 7, 1966, three days before the benefit, Lewis died,[8] in the arms of his second wife, Dorothy Ester Lemons, whom he had married six months before.

## Legacy

None of Lewis's Imperial singles sold more than 100,000 copies, but cover versions of his songs were commercially successful for other artists.[10] [Gale Storm](/source/Gale_Storm)'s pop version of "I Hear You Knocking" reached the top five on the charts.[11]

[Elvis Presley](/source/Elvis_Presley)'s cover of the Lewis song "[One Night](/source/One_Night_(Elvis_Presley_song))" (altering the ‘risqué’ [lyrics](/source/Lyrics)) was number 4 on the U.S. [*Billboard* Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100) [chart](/source/Record_chart) and number 1 on [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart).[12] Lewis's recording of "I Hear You Knocking" was released when U.S. radio was still mostly marketed to exclusively white or exclusively black listeners.[13] A version of the song recorded by [Dave Edmunds](/source/Dave_Edmunds) in 1970 was his first solo hit, reaching [number one](/source/Chart-topper) in the [UK](/source/United_Kingdom)[14] and number four in the United States;[15] in this version, Lewis is mentioned in the lyrics, along with [Chuck Berry](/source/Chuck_Berry), [Fats Domino](/source/Fats_Domino) and [Huey Smith](/source/Huey_%22Piano%22_Smith).

Lewis's recording of "Shame, Shame, Shame" was used in the [soundtrack](/source/Soundtrack) of the film *[Baby Doll](/source/Baby_Doll)* in 1956, accompanying a dramatic chase through a collapsing attic. The song failed to enter the [R&B](/source/R%26B) chart. It was covered by the [Merseybeats](/source/The_Merseybeats) for their [EP](/source/Extended_play) *On Stage* in 1964.[1] [Aerosmith](/source/Aerosmith) included it on their [blues](/source/Blues) album, *[Honkin' on Bobo](/source/Honkin'_on_Bobo)*, released in 2004. The song also provided the title of the fifth episode of the [HBO](/source/HBO) television series *[Treme](/source/Treme_(TV_series))*, which included a rewritten version of the song with lyrics critical of the government's response to [Hurricane Katrina](/source/Hurricane_Katrina).

A short clip from "I Hear You Knocking" is included on [Buchanan and Goodman](/source/Bill_Buchanan_(songwriter)#Buchanan_And_Goodman)'s novelty hit, "[The Flying Saucer](/source/The_Flying_Saucer_(song))", in which, in an ironic nod to his original stage name, Lewis is referred to as "Laughing Lewis." In 2019, "I Hear You Knocking" as recorded by Lewis, appeared in [Martin Scorsese](/source/Martin_Scorsese)'s epic-crime-drama *[The Irishman](/source/The_Irishman)* and is also present on its respective [soundtrack](/source/Soundtrack) album.[16]

## Key recordings

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- "Tee-Nah-Nah" (1950), [Imperial Records](/source/Imperial_Records_(1947))[17]

- "The Bells Are Ringing" (1952), Imperial

- "[Blue Monday](/source/Blue_Monday_(1954_song))" (1954), Imperial

- "[(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons](/source/(I_Love_You)_For_Sentimental_Reasons)" (1954), Imperial

- "[I Hear You Knocking](/source/I_Hear_You_Knocking)" (1955), [US](/source/United_States) *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* [R&B](/source/Hot_R%26B%2FHip-Hop_Songs) [chart](/source/Record_chart) number 2

- "[One Night (Of Sin)](/source/One_Night_(Elvis_Presley_song))" (1956), Imperial, R&B number 11

- "Please Listen to Me" (1956), Imperial, R&B number 9

- "Shame, Shame, Shame" (1957), Imperial

- "The Bells Are Ringing" (re-recording) (1965), [Loma](/source/Loma_Records)

## See also

- [List of New Orleans blues musicians](/source/List_of_New_Orleans_blues_musicians)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-oldies_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-oldies_1-1) ["Smiley Lewis Biography"](http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Smiley-Lewis.html). *Oldies.com*. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-russell_2-0)** Russell, Tony (1997). *The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray*. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 178–179. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-85868-255-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-85868-255-X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [\[1\]](http://www.mystrands.com/artist/10436/biography)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [\[2\]](http://music.yahoo.com/track/668424)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Home.earthlink.net_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Home.earthlink.net_5-1) ["Tee Nah Nah: The Story of Smiley Lewis"](https://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/smileyl.html). *Home.earthlink.net*. 1966-10-07. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [\[3\]](http://offbeat.com/artman/publish/printer_284.shtml) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014949/http://offbeat.com/artman/publish/printer_284.shtml) September 28, 2007, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [\[4\]](http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/984/Smiley_Lewis_an_RB_music_pioneer) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20071116015436/http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/984/Smiley_Lewis_an_RB_music_pioneer) November 16, 2007, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Larkin50s_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Larkin50s_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Larkin50s_8-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Larkin50s_8-3) [Colin Larkin](/source/Colin_Larkin_(writer)), ed. (2002). *[The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Popular_Music)* (Third ed.). [Virgin Books](/source/Virgin_Books). p. 251. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-85227-937-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-85227-937-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Blue Monday (Legal Title)"](http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=129536&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID). *Repertoire.bmi.com*. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-autogenerated1_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-autogenerated1_10-1) ["Smiley Lewis Bio | Smiley Lewis Career | MTV"](https://web.archive.org/web/20030216233429/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lewis_smiley/bio.jhtml). *Vh1.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lewis_smiley/bio.jhtml) on February 16, 2003. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Gale Storm Bio | Gale Storm Career | MTV"](https://web.archive.org/web/20041122200642/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/storm_gale/bio.jhtml). *Vh1.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/storm_gale/bio.jhtml) on November 22, 2004. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums_2_12-0)** Roberts, David (2006). *British Hit Singles & Albums* (19th ed.). London: [Guinness World Records](/source/Guinness_World_Records). p. 434. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-904994-10-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-904994-10-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Classic Rockin' RnB 45: Smiley Lewis—I Hear You Knocking"](http://www.classic45s.com/product_info.php?products_id=23431&cPath=21_26_47). *Classic45s.com*. 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums_14-0)** Roberts, David (2006). *British Hit Singles & Albums* (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 179. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-904994-10-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-904994-10-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Dave Edmunds"](http://www.rockabillyhall.com/DaveEdmunds1.html). *Rockabillyhall.com*. 1997-03-21. Retrieved 2015-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["The Irishman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0003334963?1659028136717). *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2022-07-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Smiley Lewis"](https://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/smiley-lewis). *Museum of the Gulf Coast*. Retrieved April 20, 2026.

## External links

- [Smiley Lewis, an R&B music pioneer at African American Registry](https://aaregistry.org/story/smiley-lewis-an-rb-music-pioneer/)

- [Smiley Lewis](http://www.oldies.com/artist-view/Smiley-Lewis.html)

- [Smiley Lewis biography at Allmusic.com](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p18904/biography)

- [Affectionate, but well researched, offbeat.com Bio at Offbeat.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014949/http://offbeat.com/artman/publish/printer_284.shtml)

- [Discography](https://web.archive.org/web/20070627152735/http://www.duvigneaud.net/Smiley_Lewis.html)

Authority control databases International ISNI 2 VIAF GND WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Netherlands Norway Artists MusicBrainz People Deutsche Biographie Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Smiley Lewis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_Lewis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_Lewis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.