Smith was instrumental in helping to create and shape the New Orleans R&B sound that is at the foundation of rock and roll. He played with all of the greats of the era from Little Richard to Lloyd Price and beyond.
RtBE have always enjoyed Smith and his whimsical songs, I can personally remember hearing "Sea Cruise" way back in my youth on a friends jukebox in his basement. It played all sorts of silly one off's but something about that song stuck out. Then, years later I found out that the record company stripped out Smith's vocals and had Frankie Ford sing over them. Smith had his fair share of injustices and bad luck in the industry like many black artists, but his tunes will always live on.
The album I go back to the most is Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu. I have no idea where I downloaded it from years ago, but it is a breezy 33 minutes and covers almost all of his hits. That said, you can still dig deeper and enjoy his bouncy sound.
Let's celebrate his life by listening to his music:
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