On This Day in 2024, We Lost the Kindergarten Teacher Who Had a Long String of Country Hits in the 1970s

On this day (January 23) in 2024, Margo Smith died in Franklin, Tennessee, after suffering a stroke. She was 84 years old. She was a kindergarten teacher and mother before her recording career began. Smith was in her 30s when she began performing in the early 1970s. She topped the country chart twice before leaving the genre for Christian music.

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Smith’s career began in the early 1970s. She performed in local venues and PTA meetings. In 1971, she released her debut album, I’m a Lady, on Nashville North Records. She also released a handful of singles that failed to chart. Then, in 1975, when she was 36 years old, Smith traveled to Nashville, inked a deal with 20^th Century Fox Records, and released her self-titled album. Her self-penned “There I Said It” was her first charting single. It peaked at No. 8 on the country chart.

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Smith released a few more top 40 hits throughout the decade. She also broke into the top 10 twice in 1976. “Save Your Kisses For Me” and “Take My Breath Away” reached No. 10 and No. 7, respectively. She found her first No. 1 the next year with “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” which was a hit for Connie Francis more than a decade earlier. Smith’s next single, a cover of the 1956 Ames Brothers hit “It Only Hurts for a Little While,” topped the chart in 1978.

Smith released three more top 10 hits before the end of the 1970s. Her chart success dwindled in the following decade, though.

Margo Smith Makes a Major Change

Margo Smith’s success continued to dwindle as time went on. As a result, she made a major career change. According to Music Row, Smith shifted from country music to Christian music in the mid-’90s. She and her daughter, Holly, formed the duo Margo Smith & Holly and saw success in the Christian market. They also won Vocal Duo of the Year from the Christian Country Music Association in 1994.

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