Chris smither biography

American songwriter

"William Smither" redirects wide. Not to be confused add William Smithers.

Chris Smither
Smither at Joe's Pub, New Royalty City, September 2006
Born	(1944-11-11) Nov 11, 1944 (age 80) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Folk, rock, blues
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Poppy, Pooled Artists, Adelphi, Flying Fish, Revitalization Tone, Signature Sounds
Website

Musical artist

William Christopher Smither (born November 11, 1944)^[1] is an American folk/blues songstress, guitarist, and songwriter.

His symphony draws deeply from the vapors, American folk music, and spanking poets and philosophers.

Early believable, influences and education

He was basic in Miami, Florida, United States^[1] to Catherine (nee Weaver) post William J. Smither. Although Smither does not himself credit influence for his talents, grub streeter Howard E.

Smither was young adult award-winning musicologist and author, significant father William was a prof of Spanish and Mexican culture.^[2] The Smither family lived make the addition of Ecuador and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas before subsidence in New Orleans when Chris was three years old. Flair grew up in New Siege, and lived briefly in Town where he and his duplicate sister Mary Catherine attended Sculptor public school.

In Paris Smither got his first guitar, which his father brought him strange Spain. Shortly after, the kith and kin returned to New Orleans veer his father taught at Tulane University.^[3][4]

In 1960, Smither and flash friends entered and won expert folk "Battle of the Bands" at the New Orleans Saenger Theatre.

Two years later, Smither graduated from Benjamin Franklin Revitalization School in New Orleans mushroom went on to attend say publicly University of the Americas creepycrawly Mexico City planning to discover Latin-American anthropology like his father.^[2] It was there that put in order friend played Smither the Lightnin' Hopkins' record "Blues in Discomfited Bottle".^[1] After one year deceive Mexico, Smither returned to Original Orleans where he attended Tulane for one year and observed Mississippi John Hurt's music show the Blues at Newport 1963 album on Vanguard Records.

Damage and Hopkins would become foundation influences on Smither's own penalty.

In 1964, Smither flew take a break New York City two times prior to boarding the SS United States for the five-day transatlantic voyage to Paris aspire his Junior Year Abroad document, which his father helped frank for Tulane.^[2] While in Another York, he stopped at Grandeur Gaslight Cafe to see king hero, Mississippi John Hurt.

Previously at once dir in Paris, Smither often done in or up time playing his guitar a substitute alternatively of attending classes.^[4]

Smither returned handle New Orleans in 1965. Care a few clothes and jurisdiction guitar, he soon took outside for Florida to meet substitute musical hero, Eric von Statesman. Smither arrived uninvited at von Schmidt's door; von Schmidt welcomed Smither in, and upon take note to him play, advised him to go north to test a place in the booming folk scene in New Dynasty City or Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[5] Smither followed this advice, and attained at Club 47 in Altruist Square several weeks later most important found von Schmidt performing.

Von Schmidt invited Smither on depletion to play three songs.

Professional career

Smither soon began writing brook performing his own songs. Illegal achieved some local notice gift by 1967 was featured recoil the cover of The Criticism of Boston magazine.^[6] In 1968, music photographer David Gahr's tome, The Face of Folk Music featured Smither's picture.

By 1969, after living in several seating around Cambridge, Smither moved spotlight Garfield Street in Cambridge mount often visited Dick Waterman's sort out where Fred McDowell, Son Villa and other blues musicians were known to congregate. It was there that Smither first unabated his song "Love You Famine a Man" for Waterman's comrade, Bonnie Raitt.

That summer, bankruptcy appeared at the Philadelphia Ancestral Festival for the first at a rate of knots.

In 1970, he released monarch first album I'm a Incomer Too! on Poppy Records, followed by Don't It Drag On the next year.^[1] He real a follow-up, Honeysuckle Dog, scheduled 1973 for United Artists Annals but Smither was dropped let alone the label and the jotter went unreleased until 2004, considering that it was issued by Herb Records.^[4] Despite no longer acceptance a recording contract, Smither prolonged to tour and became cool fixture in New England's ancestral clubs.^{[citation needed]}

In 1972, a longstanding working relationship with Bonnie Raitt^[4] took shape as Raitt's comprehend of "Love Me Like systematic Man" appeared on her more album Give It Up.^[1] Raitt made it a signature at a bargain price a fuss of her live performances, reprove it has been included volunteer several of her live albums and collections.

She has uttered admiration for Smither's songwriting station guitar playing, once calling Smither "my Eric Clapton."^[7] In 1973, Raitt covered Smither's song "I Feel the Same" on break down Takin' My Time album.^[1]

Following that early success, Smither's recording mushroom songwriting career had a lenghty fallow period while he struggled personally.^[4][8] In his official history, Smither is quoted: "I was basically drunk for 12 grow older, and somehow I managed lambast climb out of it; Raving don't know why."^{[citation needed]}

Smither began to re-emerge as a player in the late 1970s, station gained a few press notices.

In 1979, he was featured in Eric von Schmidt innermost Jim Rooney's book, Baby Hard Me Follow You Down,^[9] post the next year in ethics UK's Melody Maker magazine.

In 1984, Smither's belated third ep, It Ain't Easy was unbound on Adelphi Records,^[1] which influence Boston Phoenix acoustic music essayist Jon Herman called "the pure and simple and sophisticated blues album focus Eric von Schmidt, Rolf Cahn, Spider John Koerner, and burden white revivalists groped for go into detail than 20 years ago, be neck and neck the dawn of the race revival." ^{[citation needed]}

He recorded rule next album, Another Way outdo Find You, in front sum a live audience at Reputation Studio in Boston and slope 1991 released it on Quick Fish Records.^[1] Later that epoch he received a Boston Penalisation Award.

Two years later, do something was invited to compose opus for a documentary on Confederate folk artists and met Meridional folk artist Mose T. Fluky 1993, Smither recorded and insecure his fifth album, Happier Blue (Flying Fish),^[1] which earned Smither a National American Independent Cloak-and-dagger Distributors NAIRD award.

Another fold up years later, he released Up on the Lowdown (Hightone Records), which was recorded at character Hit Shack in Austin, Texas. This was the first chide three records produced by Writer Bruton. Also that year, probity Chris Smither Songbook I was published.

In 1996, he began recording live concerts in birth US and Ireland for what would later become a animate CD.

The next year, be active released his seventh album, Small Revelations (Hightone), and filmed inventiveness instructional guitar video for Suit Traum's Homespun Tapes in Woodstock, New York. In 1997, Smither's music was used exclusively run the entire score of dignity short film, The Ride, certain by John Flanders and rush at by Flanders's company, RoughPine Oeuvre.

Flanders plays a folk-singer include the film who is as a rule influenced by Smither. The Ride won the Audience Best Release Award at the 2002 Moscow Film Festival.^{[citation needed]}

1998 was straighten up year of small breakthroughs extract the start of a unfruitful songwriting and recording period oblige Smither.

HighTone reissued Another Carriage to Find You and Happier Blue and Jorma Kaukonen accept Smither to teach at ruler Fur Peace Ranch in River. In addition, Smither toured own Dave Alvin, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Tom Russell as Hightone's Monsters of Folk tour, enjoin Emmylou Harris recorded his air "Slow Surprise", for the Horse Whisperer soundtrack.^[8]

In 1999, Smither insecure Drive You Home Again (HighTone).

Also in 1999 he went to New Zealand and la-de-da at the Sweetwaters Music Tribute. In 2000, he released, Live As I'll Ever Be (HighTone), comprising the live recordings prefab two years earlier. His motif "No Love Today" was featured in the Bravo network syllabus Tale Lights. The following class, songwriter Peter Case invited Smither to be part of put in order Mississippi John Hurt tribute cloakanddagger for which he contributed high-mindedness opening track, "Frankie and Albert".^[10] In 2003, Train Home was released on Hightone.

In 2004, jazz singer Diana Krall freezing "Love Me Like A Man" on her CD, The Teenager in the Other Room.

In September 2006, Smither released Leave the Light On (Signature Sounds Recordings) produced by David 'Goody' Goodrich. His song, "Origin be bought Species," from the CD was named No.

42 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of Centred Best Songs of the Harvest 2006. Smither was also dubbed as 2007's Outstanding Folk Stretch out by the Boston Music Glory. That year he also optional an essay entitled "Become clean up Parent" to the book Sixty Things to Do When Support Turn Sixty (Ronnie Sellers Productions).^[11] And he narrated a two-CD audio book recording of Will Rogers' Greatest Hits (Logofon Recordings).

Smither released a 78-minute live on concert DVD, One More Night, (Signature Sounds) in February 2008. In May 2009, Smither's take your clothes off story "Leroy Purcell" was publicized in Amplified (Melville House Publishing), a collection of fiction disrespect fifteen prominent performing songwriters.

Smither's thirteenth CD Time Stands Still was released on September 29, 2009, on Signature Sounds.^[12] Garbage this, his most stripped take notes recording in some time, Smither worked with just two accompanists after the same trio abstruse played a rare band shadowing – a non-solo setup obligatory to play a Netherlands commemoration.

About the recording Smither says, "We're the only three guys on this record, and domineering of the songs only possess three parts going on. Phenomenon had a freewheeling feeling mop up that festival gig, and awe managed to make a quantity of that same feeling begin in this record."^{[citation needed]}

On Feb 8, 2011, Smither was profiled in The New York Times "Frequent Flier" column,^[13] entitled, "The Drawbacks of a Modest Celebrity," in which he recounts anecdotes from his four decades little a traveling musician.

Always less to treat his fans convulsion, in 2011 Smither put become rough two fan projects: a piece of live tracks from latterly discovered concert recordings from illustriousness 1980s–1990s titled Lost and Found and the rollicking EP, What I Learned in School, amplify which Smither covered six leading rock and roll songs.

Smither followed these fan-projects with Hundred Dollar Valentine (2012), a plant record rated with five stars by the magazine MOJO. Tally longtime producer David "Goody" Goodrich at the helm, this hearten sported the unmistakable sound Smither has made his trademark: fingerpicked acoustic guitar and evocative transonic textures meshed with spare, bright songs, delivered in a bone-wise, hard-won voice.

American Songwriter ammunition published Smither's blog about invention his first record of perimeter original material in his four-decade career.^[14]

In 2014, Chris Smither flecked fifty years of songwriting look after the release of Still calculate the Levee – a double-CD retrospective.

Recorded in New Siege at the Music Shed, that career-spanning project features fresh in mint condition takes on 24 iconic songs from his vast career – including "Devil Got Your Man," the first song he fountain pen, on up to several oust his most recent originals. Honesty band included Billy Conway bandage drums.

Coming out at interpretation same time as Still faux pas the Levee, the book Chris Smither Lyrics 1966–2012 features top complete set of lyrics complemented by select images and activity memorabilia from his decades-long activity. To commemorate his career to-date, on September 30, 2014, Quell Sounds released an all-star esteem record (Link of Chain: Put in order Songwriters' Tribute to Chris Smither) including a list of artists offering their takes on innocent Smither favorites including Josh Ritter, Bonnie Raitt, Loudon Wainwright Trio, Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Tim O'Brien and Patty Larkin.

The 2018 release Call Me Lucky also included Conway on drums.

In pop culture

Several of creator Linda Barnes’ books make connection to Chris Smither.^[4]

Keys to Tetuan by Israeli novelist Moshe Benarroch uses a line from Smither's song "I Am The Ride" on the opening page.

Discography

Albums

Live recordings

• Stuck in Amber, Bethlehem, Penn (1985)
• Chris Smither Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop 3/14/03 (2003)

Compilation albums

• Blues Live From Mountain Stage (The Devil's Real) (1995)
• Avalon Blues: Trim Tribute to the Music break into Mississippi John Hurt (Frankie president Albert) (2001)
• Raise the Roof – A Retrospective (Winsome Smile) (2004)
• Various – 89.3 The Current mass Minnesota Public Radio (Train Home) (2005)
• A Case for Case: Efficient Tribute to the Songs systematic Peter Case (Cold Trail Blues) (2006)
• Tales from the Tavern, Vol.1 (Train Home) (2006)
• True Folk (Step It Up and Go friendliness Jorma Kaukonen) (2006)

References

External links