Glenroy Anthony Michael Archangelo Smith, known as Ernie Smith, was born on May 1, 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica. He started his musical career playing guitar in The Vandals band and was nicknamed 'Ernie' after Ernest Ranglin. Ernie Smith's breakthrough came with "Bend Down" in the late 1960s, followed by hits like "Ride on Sammy", "One Dream", and "Pitta Patta". In 1972, he won the Yamaha Music Festival in Japan with "Life Is Just for Living", which was also released as an album. Smith received The Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service in the Field of Music from the Jamaican government in 1973. His song "I Can't Take It" topped the UK Singles Chart in 1975 when recorded by Johnny Nash under the title "Tears on My Pillow". Notable albums include Ernie...Smith, That Is (1972) and For the Good Times (1974). In 2008, he returned with Country Mile, followed by Blessed Man (2009), Closer (2016) and Another Side of Ernie Smith (2025). Ernie Smith died on April 16, 2026, at the age of 80.
