Chris Smither

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Chris Smither
At New Bedford Summerfest, 2004. Photo Thom C.
At New Bedford Summerfest, 2004. Photo Thom C.
Background information
Born November 11, 1944
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Genre(s) Folk, rock, blues
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar
Years active 1967 – present
Label(s) Poppy Records, United Artists Records, Adelphi Records, Flying Fish Records, HighTone Records, Signature Sounds Recordings.
Website www.smither.com

Chris Smither (born November 11, 1944 in Miami, Florida) is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.

Contents

[edit] Early life, influences and education

Smither’s family lived in Ecuador and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas before settling in New Orleans when Chris was three years old. He grew up in New Orleans, and lived briefly in Paris where he and his twin sister attended French public school. It was in Paris that Smither got his first guitar - one his father brought him from Spain. Shortly after, the family returned to New Orleans where his father taught at Tulane University. [1] [2]

In 1960, Smither and two friends entered and won a folk “Battle of the Bands” at the New Orleans Saenger Theatre. Two years later, Smither graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans and went on to attend the University of the Americas in Mexico City planning to study anthropology. It was there that a friend played Smither the Lightnin' Hopkins' record “Blues in My Bottle”. After one year in Mexico, Smither returned to New Orleans where he attended Tulane for one year and discovered Mississippi John Hurt’s music through the Blues at Newport 1963 album on Vanguard Records. Hurt and Hopkins would become cornerstone influences on Smither’s own music.

In 1964, Smither flew to New York City two days prior to boarding the SS United States for the five-day transatlantic voyage to Paris for his Junior Year Abroad program. While in New York, he stopped at The Gaslight Cafe to see his hero, Mississippi John Hurt. Once in Paris, Smither often spent time playing his guitar instead of attending classes.[2]

Smither returned to New Orleans in 1965. With a few clothes and his guitar, he soon took off for Florida to meet another musical hero, Eric von Schmidt. Smither arrived uninvited at von Schmidt’s door; Von Schmidt welcomed Smither in, and upon listening to him play, advised him to go north to seek a place in the burgeoning folk scene in New York City or Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3] Smither followed this advice, and arrived at Club 47 in Harvard Square several weeks later only to find von Schmidt performing. Von Schmidt invited Smither on stage to play three songs.

[edit] Professional career

Smither soon began writing and performing his own songs. He achieved some local notice and by 1967 was featured on the cover of Broadside Magazine,[4] and in 1968 music photographer David Gahr’s book, The Face of Folk Music featured Smither’s picture.

By 1969, after living in several places around Cambridge, Smither moved to Garfield Street in Cambridge and often visited Dick Waterman’s house where Fred McDowell, Son House and other blues legends were known to congregate. It was there that Smither first performed his song “Love You Like A Man” for Waterman’s friend, Bonnie Raitt, who would record a cover version of the tune a few years later. That summer, he appeared at the Philadelphia Folk Festival for the first time.

In 1970, he released his first album I’m A Stranger, Too! on Poppy Records, followed by Don’t It Drag On the next year. He recorded a follow up, Honeysuckle Dog, in 1973 for United Artists Records but it was never released as around the same time the record label was purchased by Transamerica, which culled over half the UA roster of artists (including Smither) shortly before putting the label out of business altogether. In 2004, the never-released Honeysuckle Dog was licensed by Tomato Records.[2] Despite being dropped from the record label, Smither continued to tour, becoming a fixture in the New England folk clubs.

In 1972, a longstanding working relationship with Bonnie Raitt[2] took shape as Raitt's cover of "Love Me Like a Man" appeared on her second album Give It Up. Raitt has since made it a signature song of her live performances under that title, and the song has been included on several of her live albums. She has openly expressed admiration for Smither's songwriting and guitar playing, once calling Smither “my Eric Clapton.” In 1973, she covered his song “I Feel The Same” on her Takin' My Time album.

Following this mixed early success, Smither's recording and songwriting career had a long fallow period while he struggled with personal issues.[2][5] In his official biography, Smither is quoted: "I was basically drunk for 12 years, and somehow I managed to climb out of it; I don't know why."

Smither began to re-emerge as a performer in the late 1970s, and gained a few press notices. In 1979, he was featured in Eric von Schmidt and Jim Rooney’s book, ‘’Baby Let Me Follow You Down’’[6], and the next year in the UK’s Melody Maker magazine.

Nineteen-ninety-eight was a year of small breakthroughs and the start of a fertile songwriting and recording period for Smither. HighTone Records reissued Another Way To Find You and Happier Blue and Jorma Kaukonen invited Smither to teach at his Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio. In addition, Smither toured with Dave Alvin, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Tom Russell as Hightone’s "Monsters of Folk" tour, and Emmylou Harris recorded his song “Slow Surprise”, for the Horse Whisperer soundtrack CD.[5]

His song “No Love Today” was featured in the Bravo network program "Tale Lights". The following year, songwriter Peter Case invited Smither to be part of a Mississippi John Hurt tribute record for which he contributed the opening track, “Frankie and Albert”. [7]

In 2004, jazz singer Diana Krall covered “Love Me Like A Man” on her CD, The Girl in the Other Room.

In 2006, Smither contributed an essay entitled “Become A Parent” to the book Sixty Things To Do When You Turn Sixty (Ronnie Sellers Productions).[8] He also narrated a two-CD audio book recording of Will Rogers' Greatest Hits (Logofon Recordings).

Smither continues to tour world-wide, performing at clubs, concert halls, and festivals in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia.

[edit] Pop culture references

In 1987, author Linda Barnes’ book “A Trouble of Fools” was published. This is the first in a series of 11 (to-date) novels featuring the private investigator Carlotta Carlysle who is a big Chris Smither fan, and all of which include some reference to Chris Smither.[2]

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

[edit] Discography

[edit] Live Recordings and Compilations

  • Blues Live From Mountain Stage (Plays "The Devil's Real") (1995)
  • Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt (Plays "Frankie and Albert") (2001)
  • Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop (2004)
  • Raise the Roof - A Retrospective (Plays "Winsome Smile") (2004)
  • A Case for Case: A Tribute to the Songs of Peter Case (Plays "Cold Trail Blues") (2006)
  • Tales from the Tavern, Vol.1 (Plays "Train Home") (2006)
  • True Folk (Plays "Step It Up and Go" with Jorma Kaukonen) (2006)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pure Music interview. Accessed on April 5, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Americana UK interview. Accessed on April 8, 2008.
  3. ^ CMT Biography. Accessed on April 7, 2008.
  4. ^ Richard & Mimi Farina website, scans of Broadside Magazine covers.
  5. ^ a b SacBee interview. Accessed on April 5, 2008.
  6. ^ Von Schmidt, Eric and Jim Rooney: Baby Let Me Follow You Down:
The Illustrated History Of The Cambridge Folk Years.
Garden City, New York: Anchor Press / Doubleday & Co. 1979 (2nd edition 1994: Univ. of Massachusetts Press; ISBN: 0-87023-925-2. (pp 276-277)
  7. ^ Minor 7th interview. Accessed on April 5, 2008.
  8. ^ ClevNet Consortium entry for Sixty Things To Do When You Turn Sixty.

[edit] External links