I was listening to the radio a lot in 1973 and I don't remember this at all. On listening to it now, I'm not quite sure what to think of it. The singer doesn't so much sing as bleat and it's in an old pre-rock British style mixed in a bit with modernish jazz. But the tune does stick in your head and I was able to finish listening to it while I typed this.
Norman Smith (1923-2008) started his musical career as a sound engineer for EMI Records in Britain. He was the engineer for the early Beatles' recordings up to 1965; John Lennon nicknamed him "Normal" because he was, well, normal. Promoted to producer, he worked on some of Pink Floyd's early albums.
Smith adopted the psuedonym of Hurricane Smith for his musical recordings. In 1971, he reached #2 in Britain with "Don't Let It Die", which on first listen appears to be a more conventional piece of pop music. "Oh Babe, What Would You Say", his second single, reached #4 in Britain and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1973, Smith released "Who Was It?", which went to #23 in Britain and #49 on the Hot 100, by which time Hurricane had become a mere tropical storm. (Sorry about that.) It was his last visit to the charts. In 2007, he wrote his memoir, John Lennon Called Me Normal.
Created March 2, 2026.