Smiley (real name Overton Lemon) recorded initially for Deluxe before joining Imperial in 1950. His rich, blues-based voice bore certain similarities to stablemate Fats Domino and the two singers shared the same producer in Dave Bartholomew.
I Hear You Knocking became Smiley’s most popular single, though it lost out on the charts to Gale Storm’s version the same year (1955).
