ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Carl Smith  

(Mar. 15, 1927 – Jan. 16, 2010) 

Career Highlights 

No. 22 Country Music Artist (1944 - 1993) 

No. 4 Country Music Artists (1950-1959) 

Barn Dance Affiliate 

• Louisiana Hayride
• Ozark Jubilee 

Grand Ole Opry (1950 -1956) 

Band Name: The Tunesmiths 

• Buddy Harmon (drummer)
• Grady Martin (guitar)
• Johnny Sibert (steel guitar) 

Alter Ego: The Country Gentleman, The Tall Gentleman 

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV  

• Carl Smith's Country Music Hall#
• Ed Sullivan Show, 4
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Four Star Jubilee (ABC-TV,-1961), 4
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw, 4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Philip Morris Country Music Show -1957, 3
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• The Badge Of Marshal Brennan (1957) 1
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Johnny cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4 
• Westerns: Buffalo Guns (1961) 1  

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV 

#Canada, CTV 

Billboard Chart Data  

• No. 1 Singles: 5
• Top-10 Singles: 32
• Crossover Singles: 0
• Charted Singles: 93
• Chart Years Active: 1951 - 1978 

Awards 

Country Music Association 

Country Music Hall of Fame (1993)

Career Labels 

• Columbia (1951-1973)
• Hickory (1975-1976)
• ABC/Hickory (1976-1978)

Billboard Top-10 Singles

• Let's Live A Little -1951
• Mr. Moon
• If Teardrops Were Pennies
• Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way*1
•  (When You Feel Like You're In Love)* -1952
• Are You Teasing Me*
• It's A Lovely, Lovely World
• Our Honeymoon
• That's the Kind of Love I'm Looking For -1953
• This Orchid Means Goodbye
• Just Wait Till I Get You Alone
• Trademark
• Do I Like It
• Hey Joe*
• Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Dog-Gone It Baby, I'm In Love -1954
• Back Up Buddy
• Go, Boy, Go
• Loose Talk*
• More Than Anything Else in the World
• Kisses Don't Lie -1955
• There She Goes
• You're Free to go
• I Feel Like Cryin'
• You Are the One -1956
• Doorstep to Heaven
• Before I Met You
• Wicked Lies
• Why, Why -1957
• Your Name Is Beautiful -1958
• Ten Thousand Drums -1959
• Deep Water -1967

*No. 1 Single

1Biggest Single

Listen to I Love You Because

Hey Joe: The Carl Smith Story

Smith was a ountry singer who made the charts every year from 1951 to 1973.

Carl Smith, one of the most successful and distinctive country artists to emerge in the 1950's, dominated the charts during the decade and was one of the most sought after personalities.

His earliest and, arguably, finest records drew upon the honky-tonk style exemplified by his sometime friend, Hank Williams, but his vocals possessed a warmth that anticipated the emergence of the Nashville Sound and would prove quietly influential with subsequent performers.

Carl was a dominate force in country music throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, with 32 Top 10 hits. From his debut chart entry in 1951 through late 1955, he had 21 consecutive top-10 singles. During his career, Carl scored 53 top-20 hits, including five that went to No. 1.

Carl was also able to put together a talented band for recording and touring. The Tunesmiths featured fiddler-manager Hal Smith, Hal’s wife Velma Williams Smith on rhythm guitar, bassist Junior Huskey, steel guitarist Johnny Sibert and former Hank Williams electric guitarist Sammy Pruett.

Carl Smith specialized in pure honky-tonk and had a talent for singing smooth ballads, but rarely crossed over into the pop audience. Still, he was one of the most popular and best-known country singers of his era. He topped the charts with such classics as Let's Live a Little (1951), Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way (1951), Are You Teasing Me (1952), Hey Joe (1953) Loose Talk (1954), Back Up Buddy (1954), Kisses Don’t Lie (1955), There She Goes (1955) and Before I Met You (1956). 

At age 15, he started performing in a band called Kitty Dibble and Her Dude Ranch Ranglers. By age 17, he had learned to play the string bass and spent his summer vacation working at WROL-AM in Knoxville, Tennessee. After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S. Navy. 

Carl returned to WROL and played string bass for country singers Molly O'Day and Skeets Williamson. WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee signed Smith to a contract, and he began working for the station and singing at the Grand Ole Opry. Carl’s easy manner and sharp stage presence led to his Country Gentleman moniker, but his appeal was not strictly visual. By late 1951, he was leading one of country music’s finest bands, The Tunesmiths, a group that featured steel guitarist Johnny Sibert, now a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

In 1950, Columbia Records signed Smith to a recording contract and he made his chart debut the following year with Lets Live a Little. In 1951, he married June Carter and they had a daughter named Carlene. They were divorced in 1957. 

In 1956, Smith left the Grand Ole Opry, moved to California and appeared in a couple of minor westerns; Buffalo Guns (1961) and The Badge Of Marshal Brennan (1957) and he starred on television's Ozark Jubilee.

Soon after, he joined the Phillip Morris Country Music Show and spent more than a year touring the USA. Also known as The Tall Gentleman, he was the man posing on a beautiful horse for Marlboro cigarette commercials. He also made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and was a fill-in host for Red Foley on the Ozark Jubilee. 

In 1957, Smith married country music singer Goldie Hill, best known for the number one hit, I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes. They had one daughter and two sons. By the late 50s, Smith's chart activity began to wane and soon his string of top-10s gave way to top-20 activity. 

As the '50s ended, Smith was no longer a dominant force on the country charts, but he never stopped having hits. During the '60s, he consistently charted in the top-40, which was indicative of his status as a country music statesman. In 1961, he appeared on ABC's country television series, Four Star Jubilee, and a few years later, he began hosting Carl Smith's Country Music Hall for Canadian television; the series also was syndicated in America. 

Smith was a staple on the Columbia Records roster for almost twenty five years. However they parted ways in 1975 after selling more than 15 million records. Carl signed on with Hickory Records, but his singles were barely making the charts. After having a handful of minor hits for the label, including several that were released on ABC/Hickory, he decided to retire from entertaining in the late '70s.

Smith dropped from the spotlight after his 1979 retirement. He and his wife, Goldie, resided on their horse farm outside of Franklin, Tennessee. Goldie Hill died in 2005 Carl was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Many of country music's most revered performers turned out for the event to honor a legend, who helped sustain and solidify country music at a time when it had become vulnerable from the surge of R&B, Rock and Pop music fields. During his era as an entertainer, Carl became a role model and inspired dozens of upcoming artists.

Foremost, Carl was the epitome of a country gentleman. His recordings are sure to remain among the most evocative and influential in all of country music. Carl Smith, The Tall Gentleman from Maynardsville, Tennessee, left an indelible mark on country music and his passing creates a void in the entertainment industry that cannot be filled. He will be sorely missed. Carl died from a stroke at his Franklin home sometime Saturday morning on January 16, 2010

Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music. Jun. 12, 2010.