BIG WALTER SMITH
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Kansas City, Smith cites his friendship with Albert Collins and the singing of Bobby “Blue” Bland and B. B. King as his biggest musical influences. While those inspirations may have drawn Smith into the sphere of blues music’s irresistible gravitational pull, his voice has a honey sweet, velvet smooth timber that lends itself very well to rhythm and blues. He has been a mainstay of the Twin Cities’ music scene ever since he moved to Minneapolis/St Paul in 1970. Minnesota’s affable elder statesman of the blues, Smith was the vocalist in many local groups before forming the Groove Merchants in 1985.
Big Walter Smith and the Groove Merchants have become the personification of the blues in Minnesota winning virtually every music award that the state has to offer. In 1998, Smith made music history when he became the first blues musician to be inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Even politicians have sung his praises on more than one occasion. The Groove Merchants have also embarked on the high seas performing on blues cruises to spread the music’s message across the Atlantic.
The band’s 1990 release Brother to the Blues received a Grammy Award nomination for Blues Recording of the Year. That level of recording excellence has continued with the release of the widely acclaimed Midnight Express and Groovin’ (Live). Don’t leave the festival grounds without a copy of their latest release Running Out of Time.
The current edition of the Groove Merchants is lead by the cat-quick guitar playing and back up vocals of Scotty Graves, the brassy exhilaration of the Hi-Steppin’ horn section featuring Jim Kogl (tenor saxophone) and Dan Eikmeier (trumpet) and the dancing keyboards of Tim Wick. No matter how sharp the turn, count on Brad Pelkey (bass) and Patrick Hulme (drums) to keep the proceedings firmly on the rails. Fronting the band is the Ambassador to the Blues, Big Walter Smith and his smooth, soaring, mellifluous vocals.
More than musicians, Big Walter Smith & the Groove Merchants are friends. Things just wouldn’t be the same without them!
Big Walter Smith sings Mustang Sally. Recorded in 2006 in Bloomington, MN.
Scott Graves (guitar), Pat Hulme (drums), Tim Wick (keyboard), Chris Johnson (bass), Dan Eikmeier (trumpet), Randy Evensen (trombone), and Jim Kogl (sax).
ALBUM COVER: BIG WALTER SMITH en el centro, a la izquierda JOE CARTER, y a la derecha JOHNNY JUNIOUS
BIG WALTER SMITH, 1930-2012
Big Walter Smith, the local bandleader affectionately known as the “Big Man of the Blues,” died Tuesday at the age of 82 at his home in Minneapolis.
An Oklahoma native, Smith established himself as a performer before moving to Minneapolis in 1970, playing with Albert Collins and Albert King in the 1960s. Shortly after arriving in Minnesota, Smith met Shirley Schuldt, who would soon become both his wife and manager. He went on to front several local bands before solidifying the Groove Merchants in 1985. Both Prince and Jonny Lang joined Smith onstage early in their careers.
Smith quickly earned a reputation in the Twin Cities and was the first inductee in the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame in 1988. He also claimed a faithful following in Duluth, where he was a mainstay of the annual Bayfront Blues Festival.
Earlier this summer, Smith was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, but continued to perform until he suffered a stroke at a gig in June. He died Tuesday from cancer and another stroke.
Smith’s band, the Groove Merchants, will continue to perform, including an Aug. 11 gig at Duluth’s Bayfront Blues Festival and an Aug. 19 tribute show at Wilebski’s Blues Saloon in St. Paul. A memorial service will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 5 at Washburn-McReavy’s Glen Haven Chapel in Crystal.
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