CHRIS SMITHER

Chris Smither, born in Miami, FL, and raised in New Orleans, is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers. In 1970, he released his first album I'm A Stranger, Too! on Poppy Records, followed by Don’t It Drag On the next year. Smither continued to tour, becoming a fixture in the New England folk clubs. In 1972, a longstanding working relationship with Bonnie Raitt took shape as Raitt's of Smither’s song, "Love Me Like a Man," appeared on her second album Give It Up. Raitt has since made it a signature song of her live performances, and the song has been included on several of her live albums and collections. In 1973, Raitt covered Smither's song "I Feel The Same" on her Takin' My Time album. In 1984, Smither's belated third album, It Ain’t Easy was released on Adelphi Records. Smither recorded his next album, Another Way To Find You, in front of a live audience at Soundtrack Studio in Boston and in 1991 released it on Flying Fish Records. Later that year he received a Boston Music Award. In 1993, Smither recorded and released his fifth album, Happier Blue (Flying Fish), which earned Smither a National American Independent Record Distributors NAIRD award. Another two years later, he released Up On The Lowdown (Hightone), which was recorded at the Hit Shack in Austin, Texas. This was the first of three records produced by Stephen Bruton. Also that year, the Chris Smither Songbook I was published. In 1986 Smither began recording live concerts in the US and Ireland for what would later become a live CD. The next year, he released his seventh album, Small Revelations (Hightone), and filmed an instructional guitar video for Happy Traum’s Homespun Tapes in Woodstock, NY. In 1997 Smither's music was used exclusively on the entire score of the short film, The Ride, directed by John Flanders and produced by Flanders's company, RoughPine Productions. Flanders plays a folk-singer in the film who is largely influenced by Smither. The Ride won the Audience Best Film Award at the 2002 Moscow Film Festival. 1998 was the start of a fertile songwriting and recording period for Smither. Hightone reissued Another Way To Find You and Happier Blue and Jorma Kaukonen invited Smither to teach at his Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio. In addition, Smither toured with Dave Alvin, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Tom Russell as Hightone’s "Monsters of Folk" tour, and Emmylou Harris recorded his song "Slow Surprise", for the Horse Whisperer soundtrack CD. In 1999, Smither released Drive You Home Again (Hightone). The following year, songwriter Peter Case invited Smither to be part of a Mississippi John Hurt tribute record for which he contributed the opening track, “Frankie and Albert”. 2000 brought the release of another CD, Live As I’ll Ever Be (Hightone), comprised of the live recordings made two years earlier. His song “No Love Today” was featured in the network program "Tale Lights". The following year, songwriter Peter Case invited Smither to be part of a Mississippi John Hurt tribute record for which he contributed the opening track, “Frankie and Albert”. In 2003, Train Home was released on Hightone. In 2004, jazz singer Diana Krall covered “Love Me Like A Man” on her CD, The Girl in the Other Room. In September 2006, Smither released Leave the Light On (Signature Sounds) produced by David 'Goody' Goodrich. His song, "Origin of Species," from the CD was named #42 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of 100 Best Songs of the Year 2006. Smither was also named as 2007's Outstanding Folk Act by the Boston Music Awards. That year he also contributed an essay entitled "Become a Parent" to the book Sixty Things To Do When You Turn Sixty (Ronnie Sellers Productions). And he narrated a two-CD audio book recording of Will Rogers' Greatest Hits (Logofon Recordings). Smither released a 78-minute live concert DVD, One More Night, (Signature Sounds) in February, 2008. Much of which was filmed last year live at a beautiful 75-seat music barn in Lyme, CT. In May 2009, Smither's short story "Leroy Purcell" will be released in Amplified (Melville House Publishing), a collection of fiction by 15 prominent performing songwriters. Smither continues to tour world-wide, performing at clubs, concert halls, and festivals in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia. Smither's 13th CD Time Stands Still will be in stores on September 29, 2009 (Signature Sounds).