Verdelle Smith - Tar And Cement (youtu.be)

I missed this one, although I must admit that I've repressed a lot re the summer of '66. 😉

Capitol followed with singles like “I Don’t Need Anything,” but Verdelle Smith never returned to the #Hot100... She left the recording business and pursued a spiritual life, becoming an ordained minister. She remains a distinctive part of mid-’60s orchestral pop-soul. #VerdelleSmith #OneHitWondered

Lee Pockriss & Paul Vance are a couple of names we’ve seen around here… By the time they worked with Verdelle Smith, Vance & Pockriss already had hits behind them, like Perry Como’s 1958 pre-Hot 100-era #1 hit “Catch a Falling Star.” #LeePockriss #PaulVance #OneHitWondered #MusicSky

"Tar and Cement" was also an English-language adaptation of Adriano Celentano’s Italian smash hit "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" (with English lyrics by Lee Pockriss & Paul Vance). Verdelle Smith’s adaptation brought a dramatic, soulful edge to the melody. #VerdelleSmith #OneHitWondered #MusicSky

Verdelle Smith moved on to Capitol Records, where her January 1966 single “In My Room (El Amor),” produced by Paul Vance & Lee Pockriss, gave her the first national attention, climbing to #62 on the #Billboard #Hot100. #VerdelleSmith #OneHitWondered #MusicSky

Verdelle Smith’s recording career began at Columbia Records with “Juanito.” Released in 1965, it was written/produced by Paul Vance & Lee Pockriss, beginning the songwriting/production relationship that would shape much of Smith’s short recording career. #VerdelleSmith #OneHitWondered #MusicSky

Verdelle Smith had a brief mid-’60s recording career… She landed her only US #Top40 hit in 1966 with "Tar and Cement," a driving, nostalgic single about a small-town girl returning to find her childhood green spaces replaced by urban sprawl. #VerdelleSmith #OneHitWondered