Hal Smith
Sept. 13, 2008)
Hal Smith was an elder statesman of classic country, appearing on vintage recordings such as Texas honky tonk king Ernest Tubb and Kentucky bluegrass maestro Bill Monroe. Smith was former manager of Ray Price, Ernest Tubb, Jim Reeves, Jimmy C. Newman and Jack Greene.
Smith was a fiddle player on WAPI radio in Birmingham, AL who joined Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys and came to WSM. Also backed Hank Snow, George Morgan, Carl Smith, Roy Acuff, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ernest Tubb and others.
Hal Smith was a member of Carl Smith's band, The Tunesmiths. The band featured fiddler-manager Hal Smith, Hal’s wife Velma on rhythm guitar, bassist Junior Huskey, steel guitarist Johnny Sibert and former Hank Williams electric guitarist Sammy Pruett.
Smith was a great influence on later star fiddlers including Bobby Hicks and Vassar Clements, but actually made an even bigger mark in the music business as a publisher.
Vocalist Ray Price was Smiths' partner in a firm endearingly known as Pamper Music, guiding such songwriters as Harlan Howard, Hank Cochran and Willie Nelson.
Hal Smith was an entrepreneur with companies including Curtis Artist Productions, Hal Smith TV Programs, Boone Records and Cullman Records. He was producer of syndicated TV series including The Ernest Tubb Show, Wills Family Inspirational Time, Country Music Carousel and Skylite Cavalcade. Smith was once an owner of Renfro Valley
Hal Smith married Velma Williams Smith in 1948, the period when he was employed as a fiddler in Ernest Tubb's Texas Troubadours. Guitarist Velma Williams Smith, was a Music Row pioneering session musician and singer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Dec. 7, 2011.
