"I met a girl, her name was love..."
At the end of season two of the show, the band and producers started a transition in the format toward variety, introducing their audience to new and interesting musicians. This was to steer the show away from being a sitcom for season three; instead, the show was canceled.
As a musical theatre song-and-dance guy, Davy hit the jackpot with Charlie Smalls and, in their bit, discussed songwriting, rhythm, and soul.
From Wikipedia:
A musical prodigy, Smalls attended the Juilliard School at age 11 in 1954, staying until 1961. He wrote the song "From Me to You" for Hugh Masekela's 1966 album Hugh Masekela's Next Album and a song for John Cassavetes's 1968 film Faces called "Never Felt Like This Before."
After graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, Smalls toured as a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Company before beginning work on The Wiz. An African-American urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz was adapted into a feature film in 1978. Smalls also wrote the score for the 1976 film Drum.
After graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, Smalls toured as a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Company before beginning work on The Wiz. An African-American urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz was adapted into a feature film in 1978. Smalls also wrote the score for the 1976 film Drum.
Smalls was a Tony, Grammy, and Drama Desk winner for The Wiz. At the time of his death, he was working on a new musical, Miracles. He died of a burst appendix in 1987.
