Johnny Smith
Background information
Born	June 25, 1922 Birmingham, Alabama
Genre(s)	Cool jazz Mainstream jazz
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1935 - 1960
Label(s)	Columbia Concord Roost Roulette Verve
Associated acts	Bing Crosby Count Basie Stan Getz Benny Goodman Stan Kenton
Notable instrument(s)
Benedetto Cremona D'Angelico Gibson Johnny Smith Guild Johnny Smith Award Heritage Johnny Smith

Johnny Smith, (born John Henry Smith, Jr. Birmingham (ˈbɝmɪŋhæm is the largest City in the US state of Alabama and is the County seat of Jefferson County. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Cool jazz is a Jazz style that emerged in the late 1940s in New York City. Mainstream jazz is a genre of Jazz music that was first used in reference to the playing styles of musicians like Buck Clayton among others performers who once heralded A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company Concord Records is a US Record label now based in Beverly Hills California. Roost Records (also known as Royal Roost Records) was a Record label established in 1949, primarily to record jazz, taking its secondary name Roulette Records is a Record label which was founded in late 1956 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with Verve Records is an American Jazz Record label now owned by the Universal Music Group. Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby ( May 3, 1903 &ndash October 14, 1977) was an Academy Award winning American Popular William "Count" Basie ( August 21, 1904 &ndash April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, Organist Stanley Gayetzky ( February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia – June 6, 1991 in Malibu, California) usually known by Stanley Newcomb Kenton ( December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was a pianist who led a highly innovative influential and often controversial The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar The Guild Guitar Company is a USA -based Guitar manufacturer founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge. Heritage Guitars is a Guitar manufacturer in Kalamazoo Michigan. on June 25, 1922 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist, although he does not consider himself to be a musician in the idiom. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Birmingham (ˈbɝmɪŋhæm is the largest City in the US state of Alabama and is the County seat of Jefferson County. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Cool jazz is a Jazz style that emerged in the late 1940s in New York City. Mainstream jazz is a genre of Jazz music that was first used in reference to the playing styles of musicians like Buck Clayton among others performers who once heralded

Early years

During the Depression, Smith's family moved from Birmingham through several cities, ending up in Portland, Maine. ^[1]

Learning and teaching

Smith taught himself to play guitar in pawnshops, which let him play in exchange for keeping the guitars in tune. At thirteen years of age he was teaching others to play the guitar. One of Smith's students bought a new guitar and gave him his old guitar, which became the first guitar Smith owned. ^[1]

The young entertainer

Smith joined Uncle Lem and the Mountain Boys, a local hillbilly band. The band travelling around Maine, performing at dances, fairs, and similar venues. Smith earned four dollars a night. He dropped out of high school to accommodate this enterprise. ^[1]

After becoming interested in the jazz bands he heard on the radio, Smith practiced playing jazz. He left The Mountain Boys when he was eighteen years old to found a jazz trio called The Airport Boys. ^[1]

Military experience

Having learned to fly from pilots he befriended, Smith enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in the hopes of becoming a military pilot. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC was the predecessor of the U ^[1] He was invalidated from the flight programme because of imperfect vision in his left eye. ^[1][2] Given a choice between joining the military band and being sent to mechanic's school, Smith opted to join the military band. Smith claims that they gave him a cornet, an Arban's instructional book and two weeks to meet the standard, which included being able to read music. The Arban Method ( La grande méthode complète de cornet à piston et de saxhorn par Arban) is a complete pedagogical method for students of Trumpet, Cornet ^{[1] [2]} Determined not to go to mechanic's school, Smith spent the two weeks practicing the cornet in the latrine, as recommended by the bandleader, and passed the examination. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

An extremely diverse musician, Johnny Smith was equally at home playing in the famous Birdland jazz club or sight reading scores in the orchestral pit of the New York Philharmonic. Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City in December 15 1949 The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active Symphony Orchestra in the United States, organized during 1842 From Schoenberg to Gershwin to originals, Smith was one of the most versatile guitarists of the 1950s. Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer.

Smith's playing is characterized by closed-position chord voicings and rapidly ascending lines (reminiscent of Django, but more diatonic than chromatically-based). From those famous 1952 sides and in to the 1960s he recorded for the Roost label, on whose releases his reputation mainly rests. Roost Records (also known as Royal Roost Records) was a Record label established in 1949, primarily to record jazz, taking its secondary name Mosaic Records has issued the majority of them in an 8CD set. Mosaic Records is an American specialist Jazz Record label, founded in 1983 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie to issue coherent limited edition ^[3]

His most critically acclaimed album was "Moonlight in Vermont" (one of Down Beat magazine's top two jazz records for 1952, featuring saxophonists Stan Getz and Zoot Sims). Down Beat is an American Magazine devoted to "jazz blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Stanley Gayetzky ( February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia – June 6, 1991 in Malibu, California) usually known by John Haley "Zoot" Sims ( October 29, 1925 - March 23, 1985) was an American Jazz Tenor saxophonist

His most famous musical composition is the tune "Walk Don't Run", written for a 1955 recording session as counter-melody to the chord changes of "Softly, As in the Morning Sunrise". " Walk Don't Run " is a 1960 single by the Seattle -based Instrumental rock band The Ventures. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Another guitarist, Chet Atkins, covered the song. Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins ( June 20, 1924 &ndash June 30, 2001) was an influential Guitarist and Record producer Some musicians who became The Ventures heard the Atkins version, simplified it and sped it up, and recorded it in 1960. The Ventures are an American Instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Ventures' version went to #2 on the Billboard Top 100 for a week in September 1960.

Johnny Smith stepped out of the public eye/ear in the 1960s, having moved to Colorado in 1958 to teach and run a music store and to raise his daughter after the death of his second wife. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America.

Johnny Smith guitars

Guild, Gibson, and Heritage have all made guitar models designed and endorsed by Johnny Smith. The Guild Guitar Company is a USA -based Guitar manufacturer founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar Heritage Guitars is a Guitar manufacturer in Kalamazoo Michigan. In each case, the guitar was designed wholly or in part by Smith. Each design was a full-bodied archtop guitar with a top carved from solid spruce and a back and sides made of solid maple. All the on-board electronics for each guitar, from the small pickup in the neck position through the volume knob to the output jack, were mounted on the pickguard.

Smith claims to have learned about guitar design by observing master luthier John d'Angelico, who was his friend and guitar supplier when he lived in New York. ^[2]

Guild Johnny Smith Award

In 1955, after discussions with Alfred Dronge, chairman and founder of Guild Guitar Company, Smith designed a guitar and sent the drawings and specifications to Dronge. The Guild Guitar Company is a USA -based Guitar manufacturer founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge. The Guild designers modified it (to Smith's dissatisfaction), and manufactured the resulting guitar as the Guild Johnny Smith Award. ^[2][4]

Gibson Johnny Smith

In 1961, Ted McCarty, then president of Gibson, went to meet the retired Smith at his home in Colorado Springs. Ted McCarty was a pioneer of electric guitar design and production which began when he was President of the of Gibson Guitar Corporation. McCarty spent several days with Smith, during which time Smith designed the guitar he wanted built. The design was accepted by Gibson with a few minor cosmetic changes which were acceptable to Smith. ^[2] Gibson began production of the resulting Gibson Johnny Smith model that year. ^[5] Guild continued to produce their Johnny Smith guitar under the model name Guild Artist Award. ^[4]

Heritage Johnny Smith

When Gibson moved its manufacturing facilities from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Nashville, Tennessee, several of their managers and artisans chose to stay behind. Many of these ex-employees formed Heritage Guitars and bought the old Kalamazoo factory from Gibson. Heritage Guitars is a Guitar manufacturer in Kalamazoo Michigan. Given a choice between Gibson and Heritage building the guitar that bore his name, Smith chose to stay with the old artisans at the old location under new ownership. The Heritage Johnny Smith model was introduced in 1989. ^[6] Like Guild before them, Gibson continued to manufacture their version of the Johnny Smith design with a new name: the Gibson LeGrand. ^[7]

Guild Johnny Smith Award by Benedetto

William Schultz, chairman of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, of which Guild Guitars was a subsidiary, asked Smith if he would be willing to return his endorsement to the Guild Artist Award. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Quincy Illinois is a manufacturer of stringed instruments such as solid-body Electric guitars including the Familiar with Schultz's management, and knowing that the construction would be supervised by master luthier Bob Benedetto, Smith agreed. Robert Benedetto (born October 22, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) is an American Luthier. ^[2] The Guild Johnny Smith Award by Benedetto was available through Guild dealers until early 2006 when Benedetto left Fender. ^{[8] [9]} Unlike Guild and Gibson, Heritage Guitars discontinued manufacture of their Smith-designed guitar after Smith withdrew his endorsement.

External links

• Jazz Guitarists

References