Every Billboard Top 40 Hit 1971: #7: “Help Me Make It Through The Night”- Sammi Smith. January 16, 1971.

• Single: “Help Me Make It Through The Night”- Sammi Smith
• Record Company- RCA
• Genre: Country
• Written by Kris Kristofferson
• Time:2:32
• B-side:”When Michael Calls”
• Album- Help Me Make It Through The Night
• Grade: A+
• Peaked at #8 16 weeks in Billboard Hot 100. #1 in Country singles chart.

Sammi Smith a country singer born Jewel Fay Smith in 1943 in Orange, California- was raised in Oklahoma. She died in 2005 at the age of 61 due to emphysema. She was a one-hit wonder on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart- but had 37 country hits from 1968-86. This song- written by the great songwriter Kris Kristofferson would be her signature song. I will have to dig the book out but a decade or so ago a book came out which had 500 or 100 country songs ranked- in order of greatness and they had “Help Me Make It Through The Night” by Sammi Smith at #1. In the late 70’s she pretty much retired from music-moving to Arizona and becoming involved with Native American causes-working for Apaches. “Help Me Make It Through The Night” was a game changer in country music due to the sexuality of the songs lyrics- the record company was uncomfortable about it but the listeners loved the song- and money talks.