John Beasley Smith (September 27, 1901 – May 14, 1968)William F. Lee, ''American Big Bands'' (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005) p50 was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and big band musician. "

That Lucky Old Sun "That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls around Heaven All Day)" is a 1949 popular song with music by Beasley Smith and words by Haven Gillespie. Background Like " Ol' Man River", its lyrics contrast the toil and intense hardship of the singer's li ...

" (1949) one of his better known works, was covered by many well-known artists. He often worked with

Haven Gillespie James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", " Breezi ...

and toured the nation with his group, "Beasley Smith and His Orchestra".

Biography

Beasley Smith was born in McEwen, Tennessee. His parents were teachers. The family moved to Nashville when he was in elementary school. While in high school at Hume-Fogg in downtown Nashville, he formed an instrumental duo with fellow piano prodigy Francis Craig. They were later roommates at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Smith left college after two years to become a musician. He formed his first band around 1922, and by 1925 the ''Beasley Smith Orchestra'' was entertaining regularly at the Andrew Jackson Hotel in downtown Nashville. From 1927-1933, the group toured nationally. On October 5, 1925, both Smith and Craig performed with their bands during the opening-day broadcasts of radio station WSM. Wearying of the road, Smith accepted the job of music director at WSM in 1933. He starred on such radio shows as ''Mr. Smith Goes to Town'', ''Sunday Down South'' and ''Tin Pan Valley.'' Lead vocalists who worked with Smith's band during his heyday included

Snooky Lanson Roy Landman (March 27, 1914 – July 2, 1990),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 159. better known as Snooky Lanson, was an Ame ...

, Dottie Dillard,

Kitty Kallen Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, to include the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene and the early ...

, and

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

. When Nashville started to become a recording center in the 1940s, Smith and Owen Bradley were key figures in assembling musicians for studio sessions. Smith began to blossom as a songwriter in the 1940s. He and Owen Bradley co-wrote "Night Train to Memphis" with Marvin Hughes.

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

sang the original version in 1942, and the upbeat song has been recorded consistently ever since. Beasley Smith and

Francis Craig Francis Craig (September 10, 1900 – November 19, 1966) was an American songwriter, honky tonk piano player, and leader of a Nashville dance band. His works included " Dynamite" and "Near You", the latter being the first Billboard #1 hit out of ...

co-wrote "Beg Your Pardon," and it became the 1948 follow-up hit to "

Near You "Near You" is a popular song written and originally recorded by Francis Craig and His Orchestra at Castle Studio in 1947, with lyrics by Kermit Goell, that has gone on to become a pop standard. Background The recording by Francis Craig (the ...

" for Craig's band. "That Lucky Old Sun" (1949), co-written with Haven Gillespie was a million-seller for Frankie Laine and is now considered a pop-music standard. In 1953, Smith left WSM to become the A&R director and musical arranger for

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

. He and Dot founder, Randy Wood, also incorporated the Randy-Smith Music Publishing Company. Beasley Smith had written more than 100 songs by the time of his death in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

in 1968. In 1983, Beasley Smith was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is ...

References

External links

* *http://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com.s164288.gridserver.com/Site/inductee?entry_id=2839 1901 births 1968 deaths American male composers People from Humphreys County, Tennessee 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub