Chris Smither

With his rugged baritone and distinctive fingerstyle guitar work, Chris Smither has cut a deep path through American folk and blues music over the course of his six-decades-plus career. After coming up through the mid-'60s Boston folk circuit, he released just two albums before a lengthy struggle with alcoholism derailed his recording career in the '70s. Though he remained a dynamic live performer, Smither didn't begin recording again until the early '90s, when he enjoyed an unlikely but well-deserved revival. A prolific run in the '90s and 2000s helped cement his legacy with albums like Up on the Lowdown (1995) and Time Stands Still (2009) receiving widespread acclaim. Beyond his talent as a singer/guitarist, Smither is best known for his great songs, which have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, and others. Compared to some of his peers from the same era, he remains somewhat unheralded, though late-period efforts like Call Me Lucky (2018) and All About the Bones (2024) have elevated his profile to a higher level than he'd enjoyed previously.Born in Miami, Florida, Smither's family spent time living in Ecuador and Texas before settling down in New Orleans. After a short stint taking piano lessons, he switched to ukulele when he discovered his mother's old instrument in a closet. While attending a public school in Paris, his father bought him a Spanish-style guitar and it quickly became his primary instrument. Smither attended college in Mexico City where he first heard Lightnin' Hopkins' Blues in the Bottle album. The record was a major revelation to him, and he subsequently spent weeks trying to figure out the intricate guitar parts. After moving back home to New Orleans he remained transfixed by blues music and discovered another major influence in Mississippi John Hurt. After another stint in Paris, then Florida, acoustic blues pioneer Eric Von Schmidt convinced the young guitarist to move north and take advantage of the burgeoning folk-blues scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts.It was in Boston where Smither truly came into his talents. Although he kept some of his blues and folk repertoire, he began to focus on his own songs and established himself amid the folk clubs of the East Coast. In 1969 he met Bonnie Raitt who would become a close friend and advocate during his career. She recorded his song "Love Me Like a Man" in 1972 and it became a staple of her set. Prior to that, Smither landed a record deal with the small Poppy label and released his 1970 debut album, I'm a Stranger Too, followed a year later by Don't It Drag On. He recorded a third album, Honeysuckle Dog, for United Artists, in 1972. Despite boasting guests like Raitt and Dr. John, Smither was dropped from the label and the album remained unreleased for over 30 years. For the remainder of the '70s Smither struggled with alcoholism. He continued to perform, however, and by the early-'80s began to find some stability. He briefly returned to the studio for 1984's It Ain't Easy, then resumed his recording career in earnest in the early-'90s. A deal with Flying Fish Records helped launch this next phase of his career which began with 1991's Another Way to Find You. Recorded live in the studio in front of an audience, it essentially replicated the warmth of Smither's live solo show and was well-received by critics and fans, earning him a Boston Music Award. Making up for lost time, he enjoyed a prolific run for the rest of that decade, recording another set for Flying Fish (1993's NAIRD Award-winning Happier Blue), then switching to Hightone for Up on the Lowdown (1995), Small Revelations (1997), and Drive You Home Again (1999). During this period he toured with Dave Alvin, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Tom Russell and had one of his songs "Slow Surprise," recorded by Emmylou Harris.Smither's success carried into the 21st century with albums like 2003's Train Home and 2006's Leave the Light On. His long-shelved third album, Honeysuckle Dog, was finally released by the Heavenly label in 2005, over three decades after its creation. A well-established veteran presence, his music remained remarkably consistent with highlights like 2009's Time Stands Still considered among the best of his career. Smither concentrated on two separate projects in 2011: a collection of live tracks called Lost and Found, and a covers album titled What I Learned in School. The full-length Hundred Dollar Valentine followed in 2012. He then celebrated his 50th anniversary as a performing musician in 2014 with the compilation Still on the Levee and the book Chris Smither Lyrics 1966-2012. That same year, Signature Sounds honored him with a tribute album, Link of Chain: A Songwriters' Tribute to Chris Smither, which featured artists like Josh Ritter, Dave Alvin, Louden Wainwright III, and Bonnie Raitt covering his songs. Call Me Lucky, Smither's first album of original material since 2009, arrived in March 2018, and two years later he issued More from the Levee, a continuation of 2014's career-spanning Still on the Levee. He returned to new material on 2024's All About the Bones, his 20th album.
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