Carl Smith (country musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carl Smith
Background information
Birth name	Carl Smith
Born	March 15, 1927 (1927-03-15) (age 82)
Origin	Maynardville, Tennessee
Genre(s)	country, rock & roll, rockabilly
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar, String Bass
Years active	1950–present
Label(s)	Columbia Records Hickory Records
Associated acts	Hank Snow, Marty Robbins, June Carter

Carl Smith (born March 15, 1927) is an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith is the former husband of June Carter Cash and Goldie Hill and was the drinking companion of Johnny Cash. He was one of country's most successful male artists during the 1950s, with 30 Top 10 hits. His success continued well into the 1970s, when he had a charting single every year except one. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and rise to fame

Smith was born in Maynardville, Tennessee in 1927. He grew up in the town of Maynardville, hometown of another leading country singer, Roy Acuff. During Smith's childhood, he idolized Acuff, Ernest Tubb, and Bill Monroe. In his teenage years, he taught himself to play the guitar, and is said to have bought his first guitar with money earned selling flower seeds.^[1] At age 15, he started performing in a band called Kitty Dibble and Her Dude Ranch Ranglers. By age 17, he had learned to play the string bass and spent his summer vacation working at WROL-AM in Knoxville, Tennessee.

After graduating from high school, he briefly served in the U.S. Navy. He returned to WROL and played string bass for country singers Molly O'Day and Skeets Williamson, and began his singing career. A colleagues at the station sent an acetate disc recording of Smith to WSM and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, and WSM soon signed him. In 1950, Smith was signed to a recording contract with Columbia Records by producer Don Law.

[edit] Success in the 1950s

In 1951 his song "Let's Live a Little" was a big hit, reaching number two on country chart. During 1951 he had up three other hits, including "If the Teardrops Were Pennies" and his first #1 hit, "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way." The songs made Smith a well-known name in country music.

In 1951, Smith also met and married June Carter (who later married Johnny Cash), the daughter of Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family. In 1955 the couple had a daughter, Rebecca Smith, who became known as Carlene Carter, a country singer in her own right.

During the rest of the 1950s, Smith made regular appearances on Billboard's country charts, racking up many hits, including 30 in the Top 10. His biggest hits include "Loose Talk," "Wicked Lies," "Hey Joe!" and "You Are the One." He only had five #1 hits though in his career; "Loose Talk" was his last, in 1955.

Some of his songs had sharp edges, fast phrasing and a strong drumbeat, similar to rockabilly material making the charts in the mid-50s, which in some ways made Smith's music closer to rock & roll than country. Some of his songs did, however, make the pop charts. His biggest pop entry was the song "Ten Thousand Drums" in 1959, which reached #43 on the pop chart.

In 1956, Smith quit the Grand Ole Opry, moved to California and appeared in several movies. Soon after, he joined the Phillip Morris Country Music Show and spent more than a year touring the United States. He also made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee hosted by Red Foley.

In 1957, Smith and June Carter divorced. That same year, he married country music singer Goldie Hill, best known for the number one hit "I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes." Goldie retired from the music business. By the late 50s, Smith's success began to dwindle on the country charts, and soon his string of Top 10s turned into Top 20 hits.

[edit] Later years

By the 1960s, Smith's success as a country singer began to slow. His Top 20 hits included "Air Mail To Heaven" in 1962 and "Take My Ring Off Your Finger" in 1964. His biggest hit of the decade was "Deep Water" in 1967, which peaked at number 10 and became his first Top 10 in 8 years (and his final Top 10 appearance). In 1961, he was a host on the NBC summer television series Five Star Jubilee. He began hosting Carl Smith's Country Music Hall in Canada, a series syndicated in the United States.

In the 1960s and 70s, Smith incorporated more Western swing into much of his recorded material. Smith remained with Columbia Records for almost 25 years, leaving in 1975 to sign with Hickory Records. By this time his singles were barely making the charts.

In the late 1970s, he decided to retire from the music business, but in 1983, he recorded again for the Gusto label. In 2003, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His wife Goldie died in in 2005, and today Smith lives on his horse farm south of Nashville.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Profile at IMDB
• http://www.mkoc.com/Stars/CarlSmith/carl.htm
• http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=168
• http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=11:51u36j2h71u0