Richard Smith (musician)
Encyclopedia
Richard Smith is an English
guitarist
, now residing in the USA
and specializing in the fingerstyle tradition of Merle Travis
, Chet Atkins
and Jerry Reed
. He is the 2001 National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion.
, England. He picked up the guitar, when he was five years old, after watching his father playing an Atkins and Travis version of Down South Blues. He begged his father, a longtime Atkins admirer, to introduce him to the fingerpicking style. Smith soon became a child prodigy on the guitar. At the age of 11 he finally shared the stage with his idol, when Atkins invited him to play together at Her Majesty's Theatre
in London
.
Later, he formed the Richard Smith Guitar Trio with his brothers Rob and Sam, before marrying American cellist
Julie Adams and moving to Nashville, Tennessee
, in 1999. There he founded the Hot Club of Nashville, a jam band with a varying lineup, including high-profile session players such as John Jorgenson
, Pat Bergeson
, Bryan Sutton
and Stuart Duncan
, combining the European and American traditions of Gypsy Jazz
and Western Swing
. Smith now performs both as a solo act and in a guitar and cello duo with his wife. His repertoire includes a wide range of styles from country
, bluegrass
and folk
to jazz
, pop
and classical music
.
His flawless technique, quickly switching between fingerpicking and flatpicking
, not only earned him the admiration of his peers such as Tommy Emmanuel
, Doyle Dykes
, Muriel Anderson
and Joscho Stephan
, but also numerous awards. Upon his only participation Smith won the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival
in Winfield, Kansas
, in 2001. The National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame named him Thumbpicker of the Year in 2008 and inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Furthermore, Smith received the Golden Thumbpick Award by the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists.
. The Richard Smith Model is an acoustic-electric nylon-string guitar
. Furthermore he endorses steel-string
models by Stonebridge Guitars. He prefers German built AER amplifiers for his guitars.
With The Richard Smith Guitar Trio:
With Julie Adams:
With Aaron Till:
With Joscho Stephan:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, now residing in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and specializing in the fingerstyle tradition of Merle Travis
Merle Travis
Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon"...
, Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
and Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...
. He is the 2001 National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion.
Biography
Smith was born in BeckenhamBeckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
, England. He picked up the guitar, when he was five years old, after watching his father playing an Atkins and Travis version of Down South Blues. He begged his father, a longtime Atkins admirer, to introduce him to the fingerpicking style. Smith soon became a child prodigy on the guitar. At the age of 11 he finally shared the stage with his idol, when Atkins invited him to play together at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Later, he formed the Richard Smith Guitar Trio with his brothers Rob and Sam, before marrying American cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
Julie Adams and moving to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, in 1999. There he founded the Hot Club of Nashville, a jam band with a varying lineup, including high-profile session players such as John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson is a US musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, Jorgenson is also proficient in the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel, piano, upright bass, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone...
, Pat Bergeson
Pat Bergeson
Pat Bergeson is an American guitarist, harmonica player and occasional songwriter. Based in Nashville, he is best known for his live and session work with Chet Atkins, Lyle Lovett and Suzy Bogguss.-Biography:...
, Bryan Sutton
Bryan Sutton
Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicked acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays many other instruments including mandolin, banjo, and electric guitar....
and Stuart Duncan
Stuart Duncan
Stuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
, combining the European and American traditions of Gypsy Jazz
Gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz is an idiom often said to have been started by guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in the 1930s. Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, "Jazz manouche," or alternatively, "manouche jazz," even in English language sources...
and Western Swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
. Smith now performs both as a solo act and in a guitar and cello duo with his wife. His repertoire includes a wide range of styles from country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
.
His flawless technique, quickly switching between fingerpicking and flatpicking
Flatpicking
Flatpicking is a technique for playing a guitar using a guitar pick held between two or three fingers to strike the strings...
, not only earned him the admiration of his peers such as Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
, Doyle Dykes
Doyle Dykes
Doyle Dykes is an American country acoustic guitarist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is influenced by a wide variety of musical styles and musicians such as Chet Atkins, the Allman Brothers, to the Beatles and U2...
, Muriel Anderson
Muriel Anderson
Muriel Anderson is a composer and award-winning guitarist and harp-guitarist.-Biography:Muriel Anderson was born in Downers Grove, Illinois. Her grandfather was a saxophone player in John Phillip Sousa’s band, and her mother was a piano teacher. Her musical heritage showed early when an inspired...
and Joscho Stephan
Joscho Stephan
Joscho Stephan is a German Jazz guitarist who mainly plays modern Gypsy jazz. In this style he is particularly noted for his virtuosity on the acoustic guitar....
, but also numerous awards. Upon his only participation Smith won the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival
Walnut Valley Festival
The Walnut Valley Festival is a well-known acoustic music festival, held annually in Winfield, Kansas. The main genre of music is bluegrass, but other acoustic styles are represented...
in Winfield, Kansas
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...
, in 2001. The National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame named him Thumbpicker of the Year in 2008 and inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Furthermore, Smith received the Golden Thumbpick Award by the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists.
Gear
Smith plays a signature instrument made by luthier Kirk Sand from Laguna Beach, CaliforniaLaguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southwest of the county seat of Santa Ana...
. The Richard Smith Model is an acoustic-electric nylon-string guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
. Furthermore he endorses steel-string
Steel-string acoustic guitar
A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
models by Stonebridge Guitars. He prefers German built AER amplifiers for his guitars.
Discography
Solo:- 2002: Requests
- 2006: Fingerstyle Artistry (Mel Bay DVD)
- 2007: Slim Pickin
With The Richard Smith Guitar Trio:
- 1996: The Richard Smith Guitar Trio
- 1997: Welcome to Smithville
- 1998: Strike it Rich!
- 1999: Out of Bounds
With Julie Adams:
- 2001: Living Out a Dream
- 2009: Seems Like Old Times
With Aaron Till:
- 2004: Out of Nowhere
With Joscho Stephan:
- 2007: Live in Concert (Acoustic Music Records DVD, special guest appearance)
Awards
- 2001: National Finger Style Guitar Champion at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas
- 2008: Thumbpicker of the Year by the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
- 2009: Inducted into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame
- Golden Thumbpick Award by the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists