- Byther Smith
Byther Smith (born
April 17 1933 , Monticello,Mississippi [ [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=BYTHER|SMITH&sql=11:0ifwxq95ldae~T1 All Music Guide biography] ] ) is an Americanblues musician noted for his gritty style and uncompromising delivery.Career
Born in the sixth oldest of seven children, Smith immigrated to
Chicago in the mid 1950s. Although he worked for a candy company, Smith's real passion was music. He played bass for a three-piecejazz combo for a few years, but he eventually got a spot playingrhythm guitar forOtis Rush . He also backedJunior Wells ,Big Mama Thornton andGeorge "Harmonica" Smith . In the early 1960s, Smith began to take the guitar more seriously and learned much from blues legends such asJ. B. Lenoir ,Robert Lockwood, Jr. , andHubert Sumlin .After years playing in clubs all over the
United States and the world, a demotape Smith recorded became thealbum "Tell Me How You Like It", released by theTexas based Gritsrecord label . The release brought himEurope an opportunities, and his next album on a UKrecord label "Addressing The Nation with The Blues" appeared onJSP Records .cite book
first= Tony
last= Russell
year= 1997
title= The Blues - From Robert Johnson toRobert Cray
edition=
publisher=Carlton Books Limited
location= Dubai
pages= p. 167
id= ISBN 1-85868-255-X] In 1995 Smith retired from his job at Economy Folding Box Company after twenty-five years, allowing him to focus fully on music.Delmark Records bossBob Koester observes, "There's a mellowness there that is disappearing in all butB. B. King "Smith still records and tours frequently.
Family
Byther Smith is a first
cousin of fellow blues musician and Monticello native,J.B. Lenoir .ee also
*
List of Chicago blues musicians
*Old Town BluesFest References
External links
* [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:78q3g44ttv3z Biography at the All Music Guide]
* [http://www.thebluehighway.com/byther.html The Blue Highway]
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