Byther Claude Earl John Smith (April 17, 1932 – September 10, 2021) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician who worked with

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

Howlin’ Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade car ...

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...

and

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

Monticello, Mississippi Monticello is a town in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,571 at the 2010 census. Geography Monticello is in central Lawrence County, on the west side of the Pearl River. U.S. Route 84 run ...

, United States, Smith's early music experiences revolved around

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. Orphaned, Smith was brought up by his uncle and aunt. In his teenage years he moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

to work on a cattle ranch and played in a country and western band on weekends. He worked in construction and local farmhands taught him to play the

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

. Around this time Smith showed an interest in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, so his aunt bought Smith an

electric bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and sc ...

to encourage him to follow a musical path instead.

Career

Smith migrated to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in the mid-1950s with his wife, Etta Mae. In the early 1960s he began performing in clubs, learning guitar from J. B. Lenoir (his first cousin who had encouraged him to migrate),

Robert Lockwood, Jr. Robert Lockwood Jr. (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly ...

, and

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 ...

. He worked regularly as rhythm guitarist for

. During this period he recorded a number of singles with labels such as Bea & Baby, Cruise and Apex but in 1965 returned to his gospel roots with a group called the Gospel Travellers. In the 1970s he joined the house band at Theresa’s Tavern where he worked for five years, often playing with

. In 1974 he recorded various tracks with

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

for Slim's later album 'She Got A Thing Goin' On'. In the late 1970s, Smith toured with the likes of Big Mama Thornton and

George "Harmonica" Smith George "Harmonica" Smith (born Allen George Smith, April 22, 1924 – October 2, 1983) was an American electric blues harmonica player. Apart from his solo recordings, Smith is best known for his work backing both Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornt ...

. After years playing in clubs all over the world, a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

Smith recorded became the album ''Tell Me How You Like It'', released by the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

-based Grits

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. His next release in the United Kingdom was ''Addressing the Nation with the Blues'' for

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. In 1995, Smith retired from his job at Economy Folding Box Company after twenty-five years, allowing him to focus fully on music. Smith retired from touring in 2015.

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a record ...

boss

Bob Koester Robert Gregg Koester (October 30, 1932 – May 12, 2021) was an American record producer and businessman who was the founder and owner of Delmark Records, a jazz and blues independent record label. He also operated the Jazz Record Mart in Chi ...

observed, "There's a mellowness there that is disappearing in all but

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 ...

". Byther Smith died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on September 10, 2021, aged 89. "Byther Smith", ''The Tylertown Times'', September 27, 2021
Retrieved October 3, 2021

Discography

Singles

*''Thanks You Mr. Kennedy / Champion Girl'', EDA Records 1556 (1962) *''So Unhappy / Money Tree'', Be Be Records 101 (1974) *''What Have I Done / Sweet Sixteen'', Be Be Records 102 (1976) *''Tell Me How You Like It / Come On In This House'', Grits GR-4500 (1983)

Albums

*''Hold That Train'', Delmark (1981) *''Tell Me How You Like It'', Grits (1983) *''Big Shot Smitty'', Mina Records 1002 (1984) *''Gritty Soul'', Mina Records LP-M1004 (1985) *''Addressing The Nation With The Blues'', JSP Records (1989) *''Housefire'', Bullseye (1991) *''I'm A Mad Man'', Bullseye BB 9527 (1993) *''Mississippi Kid'', Delmark (1996) *''All Night Long'', Delmark (1997) *''Smitty’s Blues'', Black and Tan (2001) *''Throw Away The Book'', Black and Tan (2004) *''Blues on the Moon: Live at the Natural Rhythm Social Club'', Delmark (2008) *''Got No Place To Go'', Fedora FCD 5034 (2008)

References

External links

The Blue Highway
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Byther 1932 births 2021 deaths People from Monticello, Mississippi American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists Black & Blue Records artists JSP Records artists African-American male songwriters African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers