Roy Smeck

Roy Smeck

Roy Smeck (born Leroy Smeck, 6 February 19005 April 1994) was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, steel guitar, and especially the ukulele earned him the nickname "Wizard of the Strings."

Background

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Smeck started on the vaudeville circuit. His style was influenced by Eddie Lang, Ikey Robinson, banjoist Harry Reser, and steel guitarist Sol Hoopii. Smeck could not sing well, so he developed novelty dances and trick playing to supplement his act.

Notable appearances

On 15 April 1923, "Stringed Harmony", a short film starring Smeck made in the Lee DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York City.

On 6 August 1926, Warner Brothers released "Don Juan" starring John Barrymore, the first feature released in the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. On the program was a short film, "His Pastimes", made in Vitaphone and starring Smeck, which made him an instant celebrity.

Smeck appeared in the film "Club House Party" (1932) with singing star Russ Columbo. He also appeared with Columbo in "That Goes Double" (1933) which featured Smeck on a screen divided into four parts, playing steel guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, and six-string guitar simultaneously.

Smeck played at Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential inaugural ball in 1933, George VI's coronation review in 1937, and toured globally. He appeared on television on variety shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, and Jack Paar.

Inventor and instructor

Smeck invented and endorsed the Vita-Uke and other stringed instruments marketed by the Harmony Company of Chicago.

He made over 500 recordings for various companies, including Edison Records, Victor Talking Machine Company, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Crown Records, RCA Records and others. He also wrote instruction/method books and arrangements for the instruments he played.

Later life and recognitions

A documentary by Alan Edelstein and Peter Friedman about Smeck and his career, "Wizard of the Strings" (1985), was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary, and won an award at the Student Academy Awards.

Smeck died in New York City at age 94. He was posthumously inducted into the National Four-string Banjo Hall of Fame in 2001. Smeck's work is also featured in the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum. [http://www.ukulele.org/inductee.html]

His 1928 recording of Sam Moore's "Laughing Rag", played on the octachorda, an 8-string Hawaiian guitar, is considered a classic of slide guitar by some.

References

*Staff report (April 8, 1994). Roy Smeck, Banjoist And Guitarist, 94. "New York Times"
* [http://www.banjomuseum.org/contact_about/hof/roy_smeck.asp Roy Smeck biography] via the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0806741/ Roy Smeck at IMDB]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090332/ "Wizard of the Strings" at IMDB]
* [http://ukediner.ukulele.org/roybio.html Discography]
* [http://www.spaceagepop.com/smeck.htm Spaceage Pop]
* [http://www.andyeastwood.com/roysmeck.htm Biography and personal memories of Roy Smeck]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=oqg1-kZxHHU Roy Smeck 1926 on youtube.com starting with Laughing Rag]

Persondata
NAME=Smeck, Ray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Smeck, Roy
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American virtuoso guitarist, banjoist and ukulele player
DATE OF BIRTH=6 February 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH=Reading, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH=5 April 1994
PLACE OF DEATH=New York City


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Roy Smeck — (* 6. Februar 1900 in Reading, Pennsylvania; † 5. April 1994 in New York City, NY) war ein US amerikanischer Gitarrist, der vor allem im Bereich der Hawaiian Musik erfolgreich war. Sein Beiname war The Wizard Of The Strings („Hexenmeister der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Roy Smeck — Roy Smeck, né Leroy Smeck le 6 février 1900, et décédé le 5 avril 1994, était un musicien multi instrumentiste américain. Portail de la musique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Smeck — Roy Smeck (* 6. Februar 1900 in Reading, Pennsylvania; † 5. April 1994 in New York City, NY) war ein US amerikanischer Gitarrist, der vor allem im Bereich der Hawaiian Musik erfolgreich war. Sein Beiname war The Wizard Of The Strings… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ARC Records — Werbung für ARC Sublabels durch Sears Roebuck: Challenge und Silvertone waren nur zwei früher eigenständige Labels, die ab 1929 oder später zur American Record Corporation gehörten. Die American Record Corporation, auch bekannt als ARC Records… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • American Record Corporation — Werbung für ARC Sublabels durch Sears Roebuck: Challenge und Silvertone waren nur zwei früher eigenständige Labels, die ab 1929 oder später zur American Record Corporation gehörten. Die American Record Corporation, auch bekannt als ARC Records… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ukulele — Martin 3K Professional Ukulele String instrument Classification String instrument (plucked, nylon stringed instrument usually played with the bare thumb and/or fingertips, or a felt pick.) …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Sm — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Phonofilm — In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound on film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical… …   Wikipedia

  • Carson Robison — Carson Robison, ca. 1930er Jahre Carson Jay Robison (* 4. August 1890 in Oswego, Labette County, Kansas; † 24. März 1957 in Pleasant Valley, New York) war ein US amerikanischer Old Time und Country Musiker. Robison ist auf zahlreichen Aufnahmen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Country Gospel — Der Begriff Old Time Music bezeichnet die ursprüngliche Form der Country Musik von 1920 bis ungefähr 1939. Häufig wird auch der Ausdruck Hillbilly Music benutzt, mit dem jedoch unpräziser oft auch einfach Country Musik bis etwa 1950 gemeint ist.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”