Bennie Smith (October 5, 1933 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

– September 10, 2006 in St. Louis, Missouri) was an American,

St. Louis blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

guitarist, considered to be one of the city's patriarchs of electric blues. His sound was emblematic of a St. Louis blues music that he helped define in over half a century practicing his trade. His contributions to the genre in that city, from the early 1950s and almost until the day of his death, included mentor, performer, and recording artist. Due to his significant contribution to blues music in St. Louis, in October 2003 he received a proclamation from mayor

Francis Slay Francis Gerard Slay (born March 18, 1955) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 45th Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri from 2001 to 2017. The first mayor of the city of St. Louis to be elected to the office four consecutive times, Sl ...

marking October 5, 2003 as 'Bennie Smith Day' in that city. The board of aldermen similarly honored Smith, recognizing him as the "Dean of St. Louis Electric Guitarists".
During the 2006 Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis, Mayor Slay honored Bennie once again on September 2 of that year, declaring that day also be known as 'Bennie Smith Day' in St. Louis.

Career

Smith worked as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on many recordings over the years, and has three original albums to his name: ''The Urban Soul of Bennie Smith'' (Blues Highway – 1993), ''Shook Up'' (Fedora Records – 2001), and ''The Bennie Smith All Star Session'' (2006). In a notable 1958 session, Smith was invited to contribute on what would be

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

's first recording, "Boxtop". The song featured

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

with 'Little Ann' on backing vocals, and Smith on guitar. In addition, he has played with such guitar players as

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''. Early life Br ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

and

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

Discography

Albums

*''The Urban Soul of Bennie Smith'' 1993 (Blues Highway Music) *''Shook Up'' 2001 (Fedora Records) *''Bennie Smith All-Star Sessions'' 2006 In addition to his featured albums, Smith provided lead and rhythm guitar on a number of released singles and albums. These included:

Sessions – singles

*"Boxtop", Ike Turner, (with Tina Turner (a.k.a. Little Ann) on vocals) 1958 (Tune Town) *"Mistreated",

Clayton Love Clayton D. Love Jr. (November 16, 1927 – February 28, 2010) was an American blues pianist, who led his own band, the Shufflers, in the early 1950s. He was later a vocalist in Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm. Biography Love was bor ...

with the Roosevelt Marks Orchestra, 1958–59 (Bobbin). It is likely that Smith recorded other songs with the Roosevelt Marks Orchestra during the period from 1958 to 1961. *"Condition Your Heart", Little Herbert and the Arabians, 1961 *"Shook Up Over You", Jimmy "Soul" Clark, 1963

Sessions – albums

*''Mean Disposition'', Big Bad Smitty, 1991 (Adelphi/Genes. This album is included in the Library of Congress) *''Cold Blood'', Big Bad Smitty, 1997 (HMG) Smith shared the lead guitar role with

Style

Smith named

and

Matt "Guitar" Murphy Matthew Tyler Murphy (December 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018), known as Matt "Guitar" Murphy, was an American blues guitarist. He was associated with Memphis Slim, The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf. Early life Murphy was born in Sunflower, Missi ...

as his two greatest influences on the guitar.

Death

As a complication to

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

, Smith had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at his home on September 9, 2006. He died on September 10, 2006.

References

External links

BluesWorld – Bennie Smith
– Partial biography (missing the years after around 1995–1996)

An article on St. Louis blues musicians featuring Smith
Going Down Slow – Riverfront Times

– Riverfront Times – A St. Louis Newspaper
Best Blues in St. Louis 2005
– Riverfront Times Readers Poll
Best Blues in St. Louis 2004
– Riverfront Times Readers Poll – Mention of Mayor's Proclamation in his honour

– Showing Bennie and

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: * Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England * Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay * Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815� ...

together and ''listed as St. Louis Patriarchs of Blues''
Folk Life – Library of Congress
– American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings: A Selected List 1992 (Entry on Big Bad Smitty with mention of Bennie Smith)

– Mention of Bennie Smith
Obituary (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
– Bennie Smith: Regarded as dean of electric blues guitarists
National Public Radio show (U.S.A.) – "Whaddya Know? (Not Much)" (Real Media)
– October 11, 2003, Short Interview, Performance, 2 Songs: Wish You Well, Drown In My Own Tears
Best Blues in St. Louis 2006
Riverfront Times Readers Poll – References to his death and mention of Mayor's second Proclamation in his honour
Blue Sunday
Riverfront Times article/obituary by Malcolm Gay (staff writer) {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bennie 1933 births 2006 deaths African-American guitarists American blues guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from St. Louis Music of St. Louis St. Louis blues musicians Deaths from lung cancer in Missouri 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Missouri 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people