Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
RIP Johnny Smith - 1922-2013
470 views
Skip to first unread message
Jazz Guy
Jun 12, 2013, 6:12:23 PM6/12/13
to
Lord Valve
Jun 12, 2013, 6:59:04 PM6/12/13
to
In fact, the Colorado Springs Independent published a rather
lengthy article about him TODAY, and you'd think that
if he'd died, they would've posted some sort of update
above the page. What is your source?
Lord Valve
Organist
Lord Valve
Jun 12, 2013, 7:00:21 PM6/12/13
to
jimmybruno
Jun 12, 2013, 7:32:11 PM6/12/13
to
It is true he died today or yesterday.
Lord Valve
Jun 12, 2013, 7:37:52 PM6/12/13
to
I mean - why would that Colorado Springs paper publish
an article *today* entitled "Guitar Legend Johnny Smith
Alive and Well in Colorado Springs" if he died yesterday?
LV
TD
Jun 12, 2013, 7:48:50 PM6/12/13
to
Lord Valve
Jun 12, 2013, 7:52:15 PM6/12/13
to
Nothing at vintageguitar.com, nothing at Gibson.com, nothing in the NYT.
It's lookin' a little fishy from where I'm standing...
LV
Jazz Guy
Jun 12, 2013, 8:09:28 PM6/12/13
to
I sent you an email letting you know where I heard the sad news.
And the article you linked to was written in March of 2001...for what it is worth.
Lyle Robinson
http://www.jazzguitarlife.com
Lord Valve
Jun 12, 2013, 8:24:01 PM6/12/13
to
But at the top of that page, it has todays' date, LARGE. I
wonder why they did it that way...it came up on a Google
search, looked current. However, there seems to be no
confirmation anywhere that I can locate.
LV
Jazz Guy
Jun 12, 2013, 8:47:55 PM6/12/13
to
charlie...@yahoo.com
Jun 12, 2013, 11:05:39 PM6/12/13
to
One of the sad things to consider is how huge JS was to the jazz guitar world, and that only about 6 people in the group had a response to his passing.
I bet a lot of younger players never heard him. Glad we have his records. RIP JS
I bet a lot of younger players never heard him. Glad we have his records. RIP JS
James Seaberry
Jun 12, 2013, 11:24:29 PM6/12/13
to
On Wednesday, June 12, 2013 11:05:39 PM UTC-4, charlie...@yahoo.com wrote:
> One of the sad things to consider is how huge JS was to the jazz guitar world, and that only about 6 people in the group had a response to his passing.
>
> I bet a lot of younger players never heard him. Glad we have his records. RIP JS
Vic Juris posted something on FB as well. I sure appreciate all that Johnny gave the world, music world included.
> One of the sad things to consider is how huge JS was to the jazz guitar world, and that only about 6 people in the group had a response to his passing.
>
> I bet a lot of younger players never heard him. Glad we have his records. RIP JS
matelo...@gmail.com
Jun 13, 2013, 1:57:53 AM6/13/13
to
Mitch
Jun 13, 2013, 4:26:25 AM6/13/13
to
Mitch
Dom Minasi
Jun 13, 2013, 5:44:46 AM6/13/13
to
On Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:12:23 PM UTC-4, Jazz Guy wrote:
It is a great loss to the guitar community.
GuyB
Jun 13, 2013, 7:58:09 AM6/13/13
to
RIP
markkl...@gmail.com
Jun 13, 2013, 8:23:11 AM6/13/13
to
Respect in Perpetuity. RIP.
John Galich
Jun 13, 2013, 2:01:16 PM6/13/13
to
Damn. I've dreaded seeing a post with this subject line for some time.
When I was in my early teens, I almost quit playing guitar; I was bored playing rock tunes. Then, I found his "Moonlight in Vermont" LP in my dad's record collection; intrigued, I listened to it and decided then and there that I wanted to play jazz. While I discovered other jazz guitarists that influenced me over the years--Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Barney Kessel, Barry Galbraith, Wes Montgomery--at the core is Johnny Smith.
A true gentlemen, he always took the time to respond to me when I corresponded with him a few times in the late '70s. The ultimate was when I actually had the opportunity to meet him at his Colorado Springs store, seeing his D'Angelico hanging on the wall along with a treasure trove of photos (session shots, etc.)
Again he took about an hour of his time to speak with this "kid" from Chicago about picking technique, learning tunes and a whole lot more. As others have said, you would never meet a nicer, more humble person than Johnny.
We are fortunate that Johnny left us with his recorded legacy (wish he recorded more later on, but alas, that was not to be); his songs, "Walk, Don't Run" being the most famous; and the guitars whose design he influenced (Guild Artist Award, Gibson Johnny Smith).
For me, he will always remain a mentor and friend.
Well done, good and faithful servant. Rest in peace.
John Galich
When I was in my early teens, I almost quit playing guitar; I was bored playing rock tunes. Then, I found his "Moonlight in Vermont" LP in my dad's record collection; intrigued, I listened to it and decided then and there that I wanted to play jazz. While I discovered other jazz guitarists that influenced me over the years--Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Barney Kessel, Barry Galbraith, Wes Montgomery--at the core is Johnny Smith.
A true gentlemen, he always took the time to respond to me when I corresponded with him a few times in the late '70s. The ultimate was when I actually had the opportunity to meet him at his Colorado Springs store, seeing his D'Angelico hanging on the wall along with a treasure trove of photos (session shots, etc.)
Again he took about an hour of his time to speak with this "kid" from Chicago about picking technique, learning tunes and a whole lot more. As others have said, you would never meet a nicer, more humble person than Johnny.
We are fortunate that Johnny left us with his recorded legacy (wish he recorded more later on, but alas, that was not to be); his songs, "Walk, Don't Run" being the most famous; and the guitars whose design he influenced (Guild Artist Award, Gibson Johnny Smith).
For me, he will always remain a mentor and friend.
Well done, good and faithful servant. Rest in peace.
John Galich
Joe Finn
Jun 13, 2013, 4:39:54 PM6/13/13
to
>"Jazz Guy" wrote in message
>news:1f916849-13a4-4704...@googlegroups.com...
JS was certainly one of the all time greats and was a great inspiration to
generations of jazz musicians.
He will be missed. Rest in peace. .....joe
JBEsq777
Jun 13, 2013, 4:59:00 PM6/13/13
to
On Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:12:23 PM UTC-4, Jazz Guy wrote:
see http://jazzguitarscene.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/johnny-smith-1922-2013/
van
Jun 13, 2013, 6:58:13 PM6/13/13
to
Even Bird loved listening to JS at Birdland, and I don't know any other guitarists he said he dug.
We've all been telling JS stories for the fifteen years I've been coming here, so we all know we've lost the greatest plectrum guitarist of all time.
Even with all the advancements in digital technology, there's still not one guitarist who can even come close to the sound of his records and his artistry with a pick.
What more can one say but Rest In Peace, Johnny...
Message has been deleted
Jonathan
Jun 13, 2013, 8:02:57 PM6/13/13
to
It looks like NPR finally caught on, although their obit begins and ends with paragraphs about Walk Don't Run. The Ventures seem to get as much attention in this obit as Smith does. Maybe more.
Oh, and it comes with a YouTube clip of guess who? The Ventures.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/kmfszqv
Oh, and it comes with a YouTube clip of guess who? The Ventures.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/kmfszqv
Jazz Guy
Jun 13, 2013, 10:45:25 PM6/13/13
to
http://www.jazzguitarlife.com/rip-johnny-smith-1922-2013/
All the best.
Lyle Robinson
http://www.jazzguitarlife.com
John E. Golden
Jun 14, 2013, 9:39:07 PM6/14/13
to
On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:12:23 -0700, Jazz Guy wrote:
> RIP Johnny Smith. You will be greatly missed.
>
> Lyle Robinson http://www.jazzguitarlife.com
No New York Times obituary yet, but here's one from the Washington Post:
> RIP Johnny Smith. You will be greatly missed.
>
> Lyle Robinson http://www.jazzguitarlife.com
http://tinyurl.com/m6jtq8z
Regards,
John E. Golden
Mitch
Jun 14, 2013, 10:51:53 PM6/14/13
to
On Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:12:23 PM UTC-4, Jazz Guy wrote:
Mitch
John Galich
Jun 16, 2013, 3:00:42 PM6/16/13
to
On Wednesday, June 12, 2013 5:12:23 PM UTC-5, Jazz Guy wrote:
> RIP Johnny Smith. You will be greatly missed.
>
>
>
> Lyle Robinson
>
> http://www.jazzguitarlife
Finally, an article that accurately summarizes Smith's life.
> RIP Johnny Smith. You will be greatly missed.
>
>
>
> Lyle Robinson
>
> http://www.jazzguitarlife
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jun/16/johnny-smith
John Galich
van
Jun 16, 2013, 7:15:45 PM6/16/13
to
Mitch
Jun 17, 2013, 1:55:05 AM6/17/13
to
Mitch
John E. Golden
Jun 19, 2013, 5:19:22 PM6/19/13
to
Finally, the New York Times speaks:
Title: Johnny Smith, Jazz Guitarist, Dies at 90
Author(s): Paul Vitello
Source: The New York Times. (June 19, 2013): Regional News: pA20(L).
Document Type: Obituary
Johnny Smith, a jazz guitarist who was considered one of the emerging
greats of his generation when he left the limelight in 1958 to move to
Colorado, open a record store and become a full-time parent, died on June
11 at his home in Colorado Springs. He was 90.
His daughter, Kim Smith Stewart, confirmed his death.
Mr. Smith was revered by guitarists for his pure tone and flawless
technique, which gave his most complex improvisations an effortless,
almost weightless quality. His dreamy rendition of ''Moonlight in
Vermont,'' recorded in 1952 with a group that included Stan Getz on tenor
saxophone, was one of the best-selling jazz records of all time.
But it was another song, the gentle, fugue-like ''Walk, Don't Run,''
which he wrote in 1954, that became Mr. Smith's biggest hit. While his
own recording of the piece received little attention, the Ventures had a
Top 10 hit with their instrumental rock 'n' roll version of it in 1959,
and again in 1964 with the updated ''Walk Don't Run '64.''
The Ventures' stripped-down, hard-driving interpretation was a far cry
from Mr. Smith's concept. (A more faithful version was recorded in 1957
by his friend and fellow guitarist Chet Atkins, whose recording inspired
the Ventures' effort.) But Mr. Smith didn't mind. The royalties he
received from the Ventures' cover -- and from covers of the song by
others, including Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass -- enabled him to
quit the punishing jazz life.
The quitting began in 1957, when his wife, Ann Marguerite, died giving
birth to their second child, who was stillborn. Living in Manhattan, Mr.
Smith sent his daughter, Kim, to live with his mother in Colorado
Springs, and for a time returned to his work.
With a quartet that included Mr. Getz and sometimes Zoot Sims on
saxophone, he performed regularly at the Manhattan jazz club Birdland,
and was one of New York's busiest session musicians, working with Benny
Goodman and others.
While making several of the dozen albums under his own name that helped
establish his reputation as ''a demigod of guitar technique,'' as The New
York Times described him in 1999, Mr. Smith recalled a blurry stretch of
''71 one-nighters in a row.''
On a visit to see his daughter in Colorado Springs in 1958, he decided he
had had enough. ''In the end, everything came down to the fact that I
loved my daughter too much to let my career put her at risk,'' he told
The Colorado Springs Independent in 2001. ''But there were other factors,
too. I loved New York musically, but I hated living there.''
He bought a music store, renamed it Johnny Smith Music and settled into a
life of fatherhood, trout fishing, music tutoring and neighborly
anonymity. Asked if he ever regretted the decision, Mr. Smith told The
Independent, giving each word emphasis: ''Not. One. Minute.''
John Henry Smith II was born on June 25, 1922, in Birmingham, Ala., one
of six sons of John and Kathleen Smith. His father, an accomplished banjo
player, was a sharecropper and welder who eventually moved the family to
Portland, Me., where he worked for many years at a shipyard.
Mr. Smith picked up the guitar and other instruments, beginning at age 3,
and started playing professionally at 13. He learned to read music in an
Army Air Corps band during World War II, which helped him land a job
after the war in the orchestra of the NBC radio affiliate in Portland.
He arrived in New York in the late 1940s, not as a jazz musician but to
play guitar and trumpet (which he had learned in the Army) in the NBC
Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. He formed his first jazz
quartet in 1951 with Mr. Getz, a fellow NBC staff musician.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Smith is survived by two sons from a
previous marriage, John III and David; a brother, Benjamin; three
grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Mr. Smith continued to record, and sometimes performed in Colorado
nightclubs, but declined almost all invitations to tour. One exception
was for Bing Crosby, whom he accompanied on a tour of England in 1977
that ended shortly before Mr. Crosby's death.
''He accomplished everything he ever wanted,'' his daughter said. ''He
played with the best musicians in the world, he went deep sea fishing in
the Gulf of Mexico, he was a great father.''
CAPTION(S):
PHOTO: Johnny Smith in the late 1970s demonstrating a model of Gibson
guitar named for him. (PHOTOGRAPH BY LAWRENCE GRINNELL)
By PAUL VITELLO
Title: Johnny Smith, Jazz Guitarist, Dies at 90
Author(s): Paul Vitello
Source: The New York Times. (June 19, 2013): Regional News: pA20(L).
Document Type: Obituary
Johnny Smith, a jazz guitarist who was considered one of the emerging
greats of his generation when he left the limelight in 1958 to move to
Colorado, open a record store and become a full-time parent, died on June
11 at his home in Colorado Springs. He was 90.
His daughter, Kim Smith Stewart, confirmed his death.
Mr. Smith was revered by guitarists for his pure tone and flawless
technique, which gave his most complex improvisations an effortless,
almost weightless quality. His dreamy rendition of ''Moonlight in
Vermont,'' recorded in 1952 with a group that included Stan Getz on tenor
saxophone, was one of the best-selling jazz records of all time.
But it was another song, the gentle, fugue-like ''Walk, Don't Run,''
which he wrote in 1954, that became Mr. Smith's biggest hit. While his
own recording of the piece received little attention, the Ventures had a
Top 10 hit with their instrumental rock 'n' roll version of it in 1959,
and again in 1964 with the updated ''Walk Don't Run '64.''
The Ventures' stripped-down, hard-driving interpretation was a far cry
from Mr. Smith's concept. (A more faithful version was recorded in 1957
by his friend and fellow guitarist Chet Atkins, whose recording inspired
the Ventures' effort.) But Mr. Smith didn't mind. The royalties he
received from the Ventures' cover -- and from covers of the song by
others, including Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass -- enabled him to
quit the punishing jazz life.
The quitting began in 1957, when his wife, Ann Marguerite, died giving
birth to their second child, who was stillborn. Living in Manhattan, Mr.
Smith sent his daughter, Kim, to live with his mother in Colorado
Springs, and for a time returned to his work.
With a quartet that included Mr. Getz and sometimes Zoot Sims on
saxophone, he performed regularly at the Manhattan jazz club Birdland,
and was one of New York's busiest session musicians, working with Benny
Goodman and others.
While making several of the dozen albums under his own name that helped
establish his reputation as ''a demigod of guitar technique,'' as The New
York Times described him in 1999, Mr. Smith recalled a blurry stretch of
''71 one-nighters in a row.''
On a visit to see his daughter in Colorado Springs in 1958, he decided he
had had enough. ''In the end, everything came down to the fact that I
loved my daughter too much to let my career put her at risk,'' he told
The Colorado Springs Independent in 2001. ''But there were other factors,
too. I loved New York musically, but I hated living there.''
He bought a music store, renamed it Johnny Smith Music and settled into a
life of fatherhood, trout fishing, music tutoring and neighborly
anonymity. Asked if he ever regretted the decision, Mr. Smith told The
Independent, giving each word emphasis: ''Not. One. Minute.''
John Henry Smith II was born on June 25, 1922, in Birmingham, Ala., one
of six sons of John and Kathleen Smith. His father, an accomplished banjo
player, was a sharecropper and welder who eventually moved the family to
Portland, Me., where he worked for many years at a shipyard.
Mr. Smith picked up the guitar and other instruments, beginning at age 3,
and started playing professionally at 13. He learned to read music in an
Army Air Corps band during World War II, which helped him land a job
after the war in the orchestra of the NBC radio affiliate in Portland.
He arrived in New York in the late 1940s, not as a jazz musician but to
play guitar and trumpet (which he had learned in the Army) in the NBC
Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. He formed his first jazz
quartet in 1951 with Mr. Getz, a fellow NBC staff musician.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Smith is survived by two sons from a
previous marriage, John III and David; a brother, Benjamin; three
grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Mr. Smith continued to record, and sometimes performed in Colorado
nightclubs, but declined almost all invitations to tour. One exception
was for Bing Crosby, whom he accompanied on a tour of England in 1977
that ended shortly before Mr. Crosby's death.
''He accomplished everything he ever wanted,'' his daughter said. ''He
played with the best musicians in the world, he went deep sea fishing in
the Gulf of Mexico, he was a great father.''
CAPTION(S):
PHOTO: Johnny Smith in the late 1970s demonstrating a model of Gibson
guitar named for him. (PHOTOGRAPH BY LAWRENCE GRINNELL)
By PAUL VITELLO
van
Jun 19, 2013, 6:47:09 PM6/19/13
to
0 new messages