On the strength of her vocals, Smith made the top five with a passionate remake of Burt Bacharach's "Baby It's You",[7] charting higher than the previous hit version by The Shirelles.

Many of her songs were penned by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who also produced Gayle McCormick, her debut album of mostly covers.

Grousing about the recent trend of "singing broads," Lasker implied that he had expected McCormick's debut to perform as well as Carole King's.

[13] Flesh & Blood, McCormick's new package of R&B-influenced tunes, was perhaps her strongest offering, with generally positive reviews in the U.S. and Canada.

[14] The LP cover featured McCormick in tight cutoffs and a form-fitting top, capitalizing on the chiefly male appeal she was receiving at this time.

Stan Seymore played guitar, Maurice Miller handled the drums, and Ray Neapolitan served as bassist.

McCormick toured with her nine-piece band in support of Flesh & Blood, including several dates on the California night-club circuit.

[15] Despite Decca's efforts to rebrand McCormick, neither single from her second album, the ballad "Near You" nor the rock-inflected "Grey Line Tour," charted.

More than one reviewer from this period lamented the fact that McCormick possessed great vocal talent, but could not find a radio hit.

[16] After two big commercial disappointments in the top 40 arena, McCormick changed music labels once again in 1973, this time to Fantasy Records.

Like its predecessor, "Hour" failed to chart despite a spirited cover of "Original Midnight Mama," which echoed her first love of R&B music.

[18] For her final efforts at Top 40 airplay, McCormick recorded two dance-rock tracks, "Coming in Out of the Rain" and "Simon Said," for a 1975 45 single on the Shady Brook label.

McCormick also contributed backing vocals to Jimmy Rabbitt and Renegade's Waylon Jennings-produced 1976 self-titled Capitol LP, from which the single "Ladies Love Outlaws" was drawn.

For example, one concert reviewer in Wisconsin hailed the vocalist as a "rock-blues empress," and another male reporter in Minnesota crassly described her as a "b---h goddess in tight pants.

[21][6][22][23] After leaving professional music, Gayle McCormick returned home to St. Ann, Missouri and pursued a quiet career in retail and information technology.