Johnny Smith

Biography

Johnny Henry Smith II, born on June 25, 1922, in Birmingham, Alabama, developed an early fascination with the guitar at age five, inspired by his father's five-string banjo playing. Self-taught due to the lack of teachers, he honed his skills and by age 13, after his family moved to Portland, Maine amid the Great Depression, he was playing in local bands, including hillbilly music with Uncle Lem and the Mountain Boys. During World War II, he served in the USAAF, learning cornet in six months to become first cornetist in a military band. After his 1946 discharge, he returned to Portland before moving to New York, where he joined NBC as a staff studio guitarist, arranger, and trumpeter from 1946 to 1958, working in diverse settings from orchestral pits to jazz clubs like Birdland.[1][2][4][5]

Smith's career peaked in the 1950s as a versatile cool jazz guitarist, equally adept at sight-reading Schoenberg with the New York Philharmonic or jamming with bebop legends. His breakthrough came in 1952 with the album 'Moonlight in Vermont,' featuring saxophonist Stan Getz, which became one of the year's best-selling jazz records and exemplified the relaxed cool jazz sound. He led his trio, The Playboys, with Mort Lindsey and Arlo Hults, won Metronome and Down Beat polls in 1954, and composed 'Walk, Don't Run' in 1954, later a hit for The Ventures. Smith performed with Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Art Tatum, Zoot Sims, Bing Crosby, and Arturo Toscanini, blending mainstream jazz, bebop, and orchestral work.[1][2][3][7]

Discomfort with New York life led Smith to relocate to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1957 to open a music store, where he focused on guitar design and luthiery, influencing models from Gibson, Guild, Epiphone, and Heritage. Inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1984, he continued performing sporadically into the 1990s, leaving a legacy as one of the most innovative jazz guitarists, known for his lyrical technique and harmonic sophistication until his death on June 11, 2013.[1][3][4][5][6]

Fun Facts

• Self-taught on guitar starting at age five with no teachers or manuals, later learned cornet proficiently in just six months for a USAAF band.[4][5]
• Designed custom guitars including the Epiphone Emperor Concert with a unique trapezoidal sound hole and influenced signature models from Gibson, Guild, Benedetto, and Heritage.[3][5]
• Composed 'Walk, Don't Run' in 1954 as a guitar exercise, which became a surf-rock Top 10 hit for The Ventures in 1960.[1][2]
• Performed under Arturo Toscanini at NBC, sight-read Schoenberg with Dimitri Mitropoulos, and drew admiration from Charlie Parker at Birdland.[1][7]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Django Reinhardt - major stylistic influence; learned solos from records and met in person (early influences on jazz guitar style) [1940s]
• Charlie Christian - major stylistic influence on jazz guitar playing (early influences on amplified jazz guitar) [1940s]

Key Collaborators

• Stan Getz - saxophonist on breakthrough recording and frequent jazz partner ('Moonlight in Vermont' album (1952), NBC sessions) [1952-1954]
• Mort Lindsey - trio member in The Playboys (The Playboys trio performances) [1940s-1950s]
• Arlo Hults - trio member in The Playboys (The Playboys trio performances) [1940s-1950s]
• Benny Goodman - performed and recorded with big band leader (various performances) [1940s-1950s]
• Stan Kenton - touring and recording with orchestra (Stan Kenton tour package (1954)) [1950s]

Artists Influenced

• The Ventures - adapted his composition into a major hit ('Walk, Don't Run' (1960 Top 10 hit)) [1960]
• Barney Kessel - praised Smith as superior jazz guitarist (general influence on playing style) [1950s onward]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia