and more creative control if she renewed her contract. In an updated contract, these terms were not met. Upon hiring a lawyer, she left RCA and was offered a contract by Columbia Records. In 1973, Smith signed a new recording contract with Columbia Records. The label gave her more creative control including the opportunity record one gospel album per year. At Columbia, she met with Clive Davis, who agreed to produce her. However, the label dismissed Davis before they could work together. Instead, producer Billy Sherrill chose to work with Smith. However, a disagreement about religion ended the pairing before it began. She started recording alongside producer George Richey, who recently had success writing material for George Jones and Tammy Wynette. At Columbia, Smith was pressured into recording with more pop production than before. "From Day One at the new label, even more than before, it was a constant tussle, because I just am who I am," recalled Smith. However, she remained active in song selection and the recording process. Smith's first Columbia LP titled A Lady Named Smith (1973) included pop production such as string instrumentation and overdubbed background vocals. The LP reached number 31 on the Billboard country albums chart. Richey agreed to release "Ain't Love a Good Thing" as her first Columbia single. Instead, the Richey-Smith co-write, "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)", proved to be the first label single. The decision disappointed Smith enough that she chose to end their professional relationship. The last Richey-produced project was Smith's first Columbia gospel LP called God Is Abundant. The album of new religious material climbed to number 20 on the Billboard country albums chart. Smith chose Ray Baker to serve as her next producer. Baker had operated a publishing company and produced several song demos that prompted Smith to choose him. The pair had a more agreeable relationship and recorded together throughout the decade. Baker produced Smith's next Columbia album titled That's the Way Love Goes (1974). The LP featured several original recordings and cover tunes. The album included "Ain't Love a Good Thing", which was finally released as a single and became her eighteenth top ten song on the Billboard country chart. Although she recorded two gospel projects in 1974, the label waited until 1975 to release both LP's. Instead, Columbia released a secular project titled I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before) (1974).