Chris Smither
| Chris Smither | |
|---|---|
Smither at Joe's Pub, New York City, September 2006
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| Background information | |
| Born |
November 11, 1944 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk, rock, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Labels | Poppy, United Artists, Adelphi, Flying Fish, High Tone, Signature Sounds |
| Website | www |
William Christopher Smither (born November 11, 1944) is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, and modern poets and philosophers.
Smither's family lived in Ecuador and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas before settling in New Orleans when Chris was three years old. He grew up in New Orleans, and lived briefly in Paris where he and his twin sister Mary Catherine attended French public school. It was in Paris that Smither got his first guitar , one his father brought him from Spain. Shortly after, the family returned to New Orleans where his father taught at Tulane University.
In 1960, Smither and two friends entered and won a folk "Battle of the Bands" at the New Orleans Saenger Theatre. Two years later, Smither graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans and went on to attend the University of the Americas in Mexico City planning to study anthropology. It was there that a friend played Smither the Lightnin' Hopkins' record "Blues in My Bottle". After one year in Mexico, Smither returned to New Orleans where he attended Tulane for one year and discovered Mississippi John Hurt's music through the Blues at Newport 1963 album on Vanguard Records. Hurt and Hopkins would become cornerstone influences on Smither's own music.
In 1964, Smither flew to New York City two days prior to boarding the SS United States for the five-day transatlantic voyage to Paris for his Junior Year Abroad program. While in New York, he stopped at The Gaslight Cafe to see his hero, Mississippi John Hurt. Once in Paris, Smither often spent time playing his guitar instead of attending classes.
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Wikipedia