Brenton Wood, the singer who rose to fame thanks to his 1967 hit “The Oogum Boogum Song,” has died. He was 83.
Wood passed away on Friday at his Moreno Valley, California home, surrounded by friends and family, his manager and assistant, Manny Gallegos, confirmed to The Post. TMZ was the first to break the news.
Though an official cause of death has not been revealed, Gallegos told The Post, “It just was his old age. He was 83 years old.”
“He went in his sleep peacefully. The love that he gave us, God took him the same way,” he said.
Gallegos added that on Thursday Woods gave him a message he wanted relayed to his fans. “I might not be here for long,” Woods told him.
“He said, ‘Catch you on the rebound,’” Gallegos revealed.
The phrase was also the name of Wood’s final tour. According to Gallegos, the tour wrapped in 2024 on Valentine’s Day weekend. After that, the singer began feeling ill. He was then hospitalized in May 2024.
Born Alfred Jesse Smith in Shreveport, La., Wood grew up in San Pedro, Calif. He learned to play piano at a young age and was inspired by inspired by doo-wop legend Jesse Belvin and soul star Sam Cooke.
Around the time he attended college, the singer reportedly decided to change his name, drawing inspiration from the tony “Brentwood” neighborhood of West Los Angeles.
“The Oogum Boogum Song” peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. The track wasn’t Wood’s only hit that year. His songs “Gimme Little Sign” and “Baby You Got It,” reached the No. 9 and No. 34 spots on the chart, respectively.
