- Hobart Smith
Hobart Smith, (born
May 10 ,1897 Smyth County, Virginia - diedJanuary 11 ,1965 Saltville, Virginia ) was one of America's greatest traditional musicians. He was a multi-instrumentalist and is best known for his virtuosic performance on thebanjo ,fiddle ,guitar , andelectric guitar . He also performed often on the piano and other string instruments.Biography
He was the oldest of four brothers in a family of eight children born to King and Louvine Smith. Smith grew up in
Smyth County, Virginia .Hobart Smith and his sister, Mrs.
Texas Gladden , first came to be known to the public through a record made in 1963, recorded byAlan Lomax for theLibrary of Congress , which was issued onFolk Legacy Records . A large majority of these and other recordings have now been made available on several labels, includingSmithsonian Folkways Recordings andRounder Records . The Smithsonian Folkways release is a compilation of recordings taped shortly before he died by fellow banjo playerFleming Brown . He was considered a master technician of thebanjo as well as a creator of innovative techniques on the fiddle, on which he utilized multiple styles and interpretations of classic Anglo-American and Celtic folk songs. But due to no commercial recordings during and after his death he was little known to the public at large except in smaller circles within theold-time music community.
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