Bennie Smith (October 5, 1933 – September 10) was an American, St. Louis blues guitarist, considered to be one of the city's patriarchs of electric blues. His sound was emblematic of a St. Louis blues music that he helped define in over half a century practicing his trade. His contributions to the genre in that city, from the early 1950s and almost until the day of his death, included mentor, performer, and recording artist. Smith named Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Matt "Guitar" Murphy as his two greatest influences on the guitar.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, the seventh son of fourteen on October 6, 1933, Bennie Lee Smith first learned to play the ukulele, a gift from a brother who'd recently returned from military service in the Pacific. His technique blossomed under the tutelage of Ace Wallace, the legendary blind guitarist who held court at the intersection of Jefferson and Chouteau Avenues. Smith was a natural talent, and it wasn't long before he was gigging around town with George and Doc Perry, also students of Wallace. Money was tight, and Smith amplified his guitar through a converted cathedral radio.
Though his mentor was a blues guitarist, Smith came of age in the 1950s, just as soul music was beginning to sweep the nation. He joined the Roosevelt Marks Orchestra, which at the time was picking up the work a young Ike Turner was too busy to take and which was the first black band to perform on local television. During that decade Smith also led a combo at the Dot Club that included an upstart guitarist named Chuck Berry.
In 1958 he backed Ike Turner on "Boxtop," a song that featured the debut of vocalist "Little Ann," who eventually became known as Tina Turner. Smith is also credited with teaching Ike Turner Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's "Okie Dokie Stomp," widely regarded as the inspiration for Turner's 1961 hit, "Prancin'." In 1963 Smith's band, Bennie and the Sportsmen, recorded "Shook Up Over You" with Jimmy "Soul" Clark.
Over the next 40 years, Smith honed his craft in the bars and clubs of St. Louis and southern Illinois, sometimes playing as many as three shows a night and only packing up his guitar as the sun began to rise. His innovative style made him a sought-after commodity; he shared the stage with blues talents including B.B. King, Matt "Guitar" Murphy and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown — Smith's greatest influence. Jazz players also caught on to Smith, and St. Louis-born musicians like Oliver Lake and Grant Green are said to have sought out the guitarist whenever they returned home.
During the 1990s Smith took several trips to Europe, playing to audiences in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. He also recorded two albums with his band, Bennie Smith & the Urban Blues Express: The Urban Soul of Bennie Smith and Shook Up. For all his talent, Smith determined early in his career to stay in St. Louis, where national fame eluded him. He was the consummate musician's musician, and took great pride in the fact that when he shared the stage with his idol Gatemouth Brown during the 2004 Big Muddy Blues Festival, Brown was so impressed with Smith's playing that he accompanied Smith to a gig after the festival.
"Musicians all over the world knew Bennie Smith and recognized him and loved him — it's just that the record companies never came to Bennie," says Bernie Hayes, a local radio personality, one-time manager of blues guitarist Albert King and author of the recently published book The Death of Black Radio. "It wasn't just limited to Albert King: Everyone I know who heard him play was influenced by Bennie Smith. Oftentimes they'd talk about it, sometimes they wouldn't, but they'd certainly go home and try to imitate him. He was a genius."
Due to his significant contribution to blues music in St. Louis, in October 2003 he received a proclamation from mayor Francis Slay marking October 5, 2003 as 'Bennie Smith Day' in that city. The board of aldermen similarly honored Smith, recognizing him as the "Dean of St. Louis Electric Guitarists". During the 2006 Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis, Mayor Slay honored Bennie once again on September 2 of that year, declaring that day also be known as 'Bennie Smith Day' in St. Louis.
As a complication to lung cancer, Smith had a heart attack at his home in St. Louis Missouri, on September 9, 2006. He died on September 10, 2006. He was 73 years old.
(Edited from St. Louis Metero News & Wikipedia)