G. E. Smith

Infobox musical artist
Name = G.E Smith
Background =
Img_capt =
Birth_name = George Edward Smith
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1952|1|27
Height =
Origin = Stroudsburg Pennsylvania U.S.
Death =
Genre = Rock Pop rock Blue-eyed soul
Occupation = Musician
Years_active = 1977 - present
Instrument = Guitar Lap Steel Guitar
Label =
Associated_acts = Bob Dylan Hall & Oates Mick Jagger Tina Turner Tracy Chapman Dan Hartman
URL = [http://www.myspace.com/gesmithmusic Offical MySpace]
Notable_instruments = Fender Telecaster G.E Smith Telecaster

George Edward "G.E." Smith (b. January 27, 1952 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist in the band Hall and Oates and the musical director of "Saturday Night Live". Smith was lead guitarist of Bob Dylan's touring band from June 7, 1988 to October 19, 1990. Smith also served as musical director of the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992.

A session player who has performed and recorded with an exceptionally wide spectrum of influential artists, Smith's own albums include "In The World" (1981), "Get A Little" (with the Saturday Night Live Band, 1993) and "Incense, Herbs and Oils" (1998). Smith currently is the lead guitarist for the band MoonAlice. He was married to Gilda Radner (1980–1982) and has been married to Taylor Barton since 1990.

He appeared on Broadway in the "Jersey Boys" show on Saturday, July 22, 2006.

Biography

On January 27, 1952 G.E. Smith was born in rural Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He is a Lebanese American. His Arabic last name, Haddad, means blacksmith. In 1959, at the age of 7, he was given a C. F. Martin guitar. On his 11th birthday G.E.'s mother bought him his first electric guitar, a Fender Telecaster, a model that dated to 1952, his birth year. By then he was already supporting himself as a musician, playing in numerous situations — such as Poconos resorts, high school dances — often with musicians more than twice his age.

As a teenager, Smith left the Poconos for the New Haven, Connecticut area, where he played for the legendary Scratch Band. In late 1977 G.E. got his first break, in the form of Dan Hartman, fresh off his hit "Instant Replay". He hired the guitarist to front his band for a "lip-sync tour" of Europe and the US. Upon his return to the East coast, Smith moved to Manhattan and became the guitarist for Gilda Radner's 1979 Broadway show "Gilda Live". Radner and Smith became friends; shortly afterward they got married.

During this same period of Smith's increasing fortunes, he was hired to play lead guitar for Hall & Oates. He stayed for six years (1979–85) constantly touring and recording with them, with songs like "Private Eyes", "Maneater", "Kiss On My List" and others. "It was insanely fun," he recalls. "We were so big that one year, we decided we would perform during summer — all year 'round! We toured the northern hemisphere in the summer and the southern hemisphere during New York's winter." Another event was the Live Aid and Farm Aid benefit concerts in mid 1985. During the Philadelphia portion of Live Aid day (there was also a Live Aid show in London) the Hall & Oates band ended up being the house band. G.E. ended up being the de facto music director for a lot of the show, as his band backed Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and others.

When Hall & Oates decided to take a long break from the music scene, Smith was chosen to be musical director for "Saturday Night Live". G.E. knew Howard Shore, the show's original musical director, and producer Lorne Michaels, from his relationship with Gilda Radner. Leading the "SNL" band for 10 years (1985–1995) G.E. won an Emmy Award. "I definitely grew a lot from playing with those world-class musicians, especially the horn section. I really had to learn to play in time and in tune. It was a great education." Smith was joined by bassist Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, Smith's colleague in the Hall & Oates band.

The "SNL" roster of guest musicians: Eddie Van Halen, Keith Richards, Rickie Lee Jones, Al Green, Bryan Ferry, David Gilmour, Lonnie Mack, Dave Edmunds, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, and others. The Buddy Guy visit eventually resulted in the 1996 Grammy-nominated "Buddy Guy — Live" CD, with G.E. and the "SNL" band.

"SNL" also provided Smith with a songwriting opportunity when Mike Myers asked him to help write a tune. "Mike had this bit, called "Wayne's World", and he needed a theme song. Aerosmith was the musical guest that week, so Mike and I sat down and wrote a song that Aerosmith could sing and play along with." "Wayne's World" became a hit film, the soundtrack (and song) a platinum-selling smash hit.

In the midst of his "SNL" tenure Smith toured for almost two and a half years with Bob Dylan.

During his "SNL" years Smith was the musical director for special events such as the 1988 Emmy Awards, the 1993 Rhythm and Blues Foundation Awards, Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden as well as acting as the musical director at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert in Cleveland. Smith also has written with his friend and fellow musician Jimmy Buffett. "Six String Music" appears on Buffett's album "Fruitcakes".

Following his departure from "Saturday Night Live" in 1995, Smith and his wife, created a record label- Green Mirror Music. Smith released his CD "Incense Herbs, and Oils" in 1998. Between live dates, he has been the musical director and band leader honoring Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. He also led bands for The Muddy Waters Tribute, and the 1998 and 1999 Mark Twain Awards honoring Richard Pryor and Jonathan Winters which aired on PBS, and Comedy Central.

Another highlight of Smith's history was hosting an interactive show on the electric guitar over the internet, on NPR, and a live presentation at the Smithsonian Institution.

1999–2000 brought Smith back to "SNL", appearing in the 25th Anniversary show and other guest appearances. He was featured on VH1 in the history of "SNL", and hosted the New Year's Eve bash inaugurating the new Rose Center for Earth and Space (formerly the Hayden Planetarium).

Smith has played with a broad spectrum of artists, from Red Buttons to Allen Ginsberg, from Desmond Child to Bob Dylan. "I've had an incredible ride in the world of rock 'n' roll and American music," says Smith, looking back over his career.

Musical equipment

On his 11th birthday G.E. got his first electric guitar, a Fender Telecaster bought by his mother; the guitar was made the same year was born (1952) and he still owns it to this day. Over the years G.E's collection of instruments has grown and includes a large number of vintage guitars, amplifiers and lapsteel guitars with Fender representing the majority of his collection.

In January 2007, Fender issued the G.E. Smith signature Telecaster in honor of Smith's reputation as a modern master of the Telecaster. His signature guitar is based around a 1950s Telecaster with a a cut-off bridge and the bridge pick up sunk right into the wood. A feature normally found on Champion lap-steels from the late 1940s as well as the 'Oval and Diamond' fretboard inalys on the guitar's neck. The neck is made out of maple and is based on measurements from some of G.E's personal favorite Fender necks which Fender calls the 'Special Extra Deep “U” Shape'. The guitars is currently available in 'Honey Blonde' and 'Dakota Red' cellulos finish.

"“What I’ve tried to do over the years, and in particular with this guitar, is to make it capable of being really fat-sounding, as well as doing all the chicken-pickin’ and the classic Telecaster things that you think about. But with that pickup in the wood like that, you get this resonance and this fattened-up lower end and low midrange that’s really cool. As long as somebody’s willing to do the digging in that you’ve got to do to play a Telecaster anyway, it really responds, and that’s something I’m really happy with.”"

Trivia

Smith was played by J.D. Nicholsen in the 2002 TV movie "".

In the early to mid 2000s, Smith played inside Cleveland Browns Stadium at Browns home games, along with a band. They would play during timeouts from the games. As of the 2006 season, Smith no longer played at Cleveland Browns games.

Smith is a frequent instructor at the Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio.

The song "N.I.M.B.Y.", by The Vandals is centered around Smith.

During Christmas 2002, Smith and his wife went to China to adopt a daughter, Josie Barton Smith.

External links

*
* [http://www.greenmirror.com/ Green Mirror Music]
* [http://www.myspace.com/gesmithmusic G.E. Smith on MySpace]

References

* Dan Hartman - Instant Replay
* Mick Jagger - She's the boss
* Mick Jagger - Primitive cool
*Tracy Chapman - Crossroads

* [http://www.greenmirror.com/gebio.html G.E. Smith Biography]
* [http://www.furpeaceranch.com Fur Peace Ranch]
* [http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0118202867 G.E. Smith signature Telecaster]