Dr. Lonnie Smith & Iggy Pop

Biography

Dr. Lonnie Smith (July 3, 1942 – September 28, 2021) was born in Lackawanna, New York, just south of Buffalo, into a household steeped in gospel and jazz — his mother sang around the house and sparked his love of music. He began as a vocalist in a doo-wop group called the Teen Kings before a Buffalo music store owner, Art Kubera, handed him his first Hammond organ. Smith immersed himself in the records of Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett, and Jimmy Smith, and honed his craft at Buffalo's Pine Grill Jazz Club, where he caught the attention of Lou Donaldson and George Benson. By 1966 he was part of the George Benson Quartet, and a year later Donaldson brought him to Blue Note Records — appearing on Donaldson's landmark Alligator Bogaloo and launching a 50-plus-year solo career that spanned more than 70 recordings. He became instantly recognizable for his turban (worn since youth, with no religious significance) and the self-styled "Dr." prefix, which colleagues attributed to his ability to "doctor up" any music he touched.

The collaboration with Iggy Pop grew organically from their shared life as Florida residents. Smith was playing his regular trio gigs at Arts Garage in Delray Beach when Pop — living in Miami — began showing up to sit in. The chemistry was immediate, and the two headed to a Miami studio with Smith's working trio (guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, drummer Johnathan Blake, percussionist Richard Bravo) to record what became the bookend tracks of Smith's 2021 Blue Note album Breathe: a soulful reading of Timmy Thomas's 1972 R&B hit "Why Can't We Live Together" and a funky organ-driven rework of Donovan's psychedelic-folk classic "Sunshine Superman." A third collaboration, "Move Your Hand" — Pop's declared favorite Smith track — appeared as a bonus cut on the vinyl edition.

The Breathe sessions stand as one of the most improbable yet natural pairings in recent jazz history: a master of the Hammond B-3 whose 50-year legacy stretched from hard bop to soul jazz, teamed with punk rock's elder statesman. Critics noted that Pop's raw, conversational delivery was a perfect foil for Smith's rolling grooves. Smith died of pulmonary fibrosis on September 28, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, at age 79 — just months after Breathe was released — cementing the Iggy Pop collaborations as among his final and most celebrated artistic statements.

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Fun Facts

• Iggy Pop was not recruited for Breathe — he simply kept showing up at Dr. Lonnie Smith's regular gigs at Arts Garage in Delray Beach, asking to play, until they decided to record together.
• The 'Dr.' in Dr. Lonnie Smith was never an academic title. Fellow musicians supposedly coined it because Smith could 'doctor up' any song, though Smith himself kept the origin deliberately ambiguous.
• Smith's turban — his most iconic visual trademark — had no religious or cultural significance. He had simply worn one since he was young and it became inseparable from his identity.
• 'Move Your Hand,' the Smith original Iggy Pop named as his all-time favorite Smith track, was added to the Breathe vinyl edition as a bonus after Pop's enthusiasm for it convinced the team to record a new version.
• Smith began his musical life not as an organist but as a doo-wop vocalist, singing for six dollars a night in a group called the Teen Kings — he didn't touch a Hammond organ until a local music store owner handed him one for free.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Wild Bill Davis - Early organ influence whose recordings Smith studied intensively as a teenager in Buffalo
• Bill Doggett - Organ influence who shaped Smith's rhythmic, blues-rooted approach to the Hammond B-3
• Jimmy Smith - Primary organ hero whose recordings defined the soul jazz organ sound Smith pursued
• Art Kubera - Buffalo music store owner who gave Smith his first Hammond organ and set his career in motion

Key Collaborators

• George Benson - Formed the George Benson Quartet with Smith in 1966; appeared on Smith's debut solo album Finger Lickin' Good Soul Organ (1967) [1966–1970s]
• Lou Donaldson - Saxophonist who introduced Smith to Blue Note Records; Smith appeared on Donaldson's landmark Alligator Bogaloo (1967)
• Iggy Pop - Collaborator on two studio tracks ('Why Can't We Live Together', 'Sunshine Superman') and bonus track 'Move Your Hand' from Breathe (Blue Note, 2021); connection formed through shared Florida residency and Arts Garage jam sessions (Breathe (2021)) [2020–2021]
• Jonathan Kreisberg - Guitarist in Smith's working trio, present on the Breathe sessions with Iggy Pop
• Johnathan Blake - Drummer in Smith's working trio, present on the Breathe sessions

Artists Influenced

• Melvin Rhyne - Part of the wider Hammond B-3 soul jazz lineage that Smith helped define and popularize
• Joey DeFrancesco - Next-generation organ master who cited the soul jazz organ tradition Smith exemplified

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia