G.E. Smith

G. E. Smith
G. E. Smith, 2006
Background information
Birth name	George Edward Haddad
Born	(1952-01-27) January 27, 1952 (age 65)
Origin	Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Rock, pop rock, soul
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, lap steel guitar, bass
Years active	1977–present
Associated acts	David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Tracy Chapman, Dan Hartman, Hot Tuna, Moonalice, Saturday Night Live Band
Website	Official MySpace
Notable instruments
G.E. Smith Fender Telecaster

George Edward "G. E." Smith (born January 27, 1952) is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist in the band Hall & Oates and the musical director of Saturday Night Live. Smith was lead guitarist of Bob Dylan's touring band from June 7, 1988, to October 19, 1990. Smith also served as musical director of The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration for Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992.

As a session player, Smith has performed and recorded with an exceptionally wide spectrum of influential artists. His own albums include In The World (1981), Get A Little (with the Saturday Night Live Band, 1993) and Incense, Herbs and Oils (1998). Smith was the lead guitarist for the band Moonalice until December 2009. He played guitar in the tour of Roger Waters' The Wall Live. Smith and his band provided entertainment at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Florida in the last week of August 2012 as well as the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio during July 2016.

Smith was born January 27, 1952, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as George Edward Haddad, a Lebanese American whose last name means blacksmith in Arabic. He started playing guitar at the age of 4. In 1959, at the age of 7, he was given a C. F. Martin guitar. On his 11th birthday Smith's mother bought him his first electric guitar, a Fender Telecaster, a model that dated to 1952, his birth year. By then he was already earning money as a musician, playing in numerous venues such as Poconos resorts and high school dances.

In the early 1970s, Smith left the Poconos for the New Haven, Connecticut area, where he played in a group called the Scratch Band, which also included his future Hall & Oates bandmate Mickey Curry. In late 1977 Smith got his first break, with Dan Hartman, fresh off his hit "Instant Replay". He hired the guitarist to front his band for a "lip-sync tour" of Europe and the U.S. Upon his return to the East coast, Smith moved to Manhattan and became the guitarist for Gilda Radner's 1979 Broadway show Gilda Live. Radner and Smith became friends and married shortly afterward, divorcing in 1982. In 1981 he released his first solo album, In the World, with Paul Simon and Radner singing backup on the album.