Hobart Smith

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Hobart Smith, (born May 10, 1897 Smyth County, Virginia - died January 11, 1965 Saltville, Virginia) was one of America's greatest traditional musicians. He was a multi-instrumentalist and is best known for his virtuosic performance on the banjo, fiddle, guitar, and electric guitar. He also performed often on the piano and other string instruments.

[edit] Biography

He was the oldest of four brothers in a family of eight children born to King and Louvine Smith. Smith grew up in Smyth County, Virginia.

Hobart Smith and his sister, Mrs. Texas Gladden, first came to be known to the public through a record made in 1963, recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress, which was issued on Folk Legacy Records. A large majority of these and other recordings have now been made available on several labels, including Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and Rounder Records. The Smithsonian Folkways release is a compilation of recordings taped shortly before he died by fellow banjo player Fleming Brown.

He was considered a master technician of the banjo as well as a creator of innovative techniques on the fiddle, on which he utilized multiple styles and interpretations of classic Anglo-American and Celtic folk songs. But due to no commercial recordings during and after his death he was little known to the public at large except in smaller circles within the old-time music community.