Brenton Wood, Singer of ‘The Oogum Boogum Song,’ Dead at 83

Brenton Wood, the soul singer and songwriter best known for “The Oogum Boogum Song,” has died at 83. Per Entertainment Weekly, Wood died in his sleep of natural causes at his home in Moreno Valley, California on January 3. His manager, Manny Gallegos, confirmed the news to EW and passed on a message that the singer shared before his death. “He was in the hospital bed, and I told him, ‘Friend, is there anything you want to say to your fans?’” Gallegos recalled. “And he says, you tell my fans I said, ‘Catch you on the rebound.’” (Wood referenced the same track in the name of his farewell tour, which was billed as Catch You On the Rebound: The Last Tour.)

Born Alfred Jesse Smith in 1941 in Louisiana, Wood moved as a child with his family to California, where he eventually attended Compton College. According to his website, that’s when “his musical interests began to manifest themselves and he assumed the professional name Brenton Wood, using the name of his home county.” Wood’s website cites Jesse Belvin and Sam Cooke as his musical inspirations during this period. His breakout year came in 1967, when he released a trio of singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100: “The Oogum Boogum Song” (No. 34), “Gimme Little Sign” (No. 9), and “Baby You Got It” (No. 34). He went on to release nine studio albums and several compilation albums over the course of his decades-long career, and was also a record label founder and produced music for other artists. Songs from Wood’s discography have been used as needle drops in many movies and TV shows, including Don’t Worry Darling, Big Little Lies, Almost Famous, The Umbrella Academy, and more.