Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Jimmy Smith (musician)

Role / Field:

Pioneering jazz organist who linked jazz with 1960s soul music via the Hammond B-3.

Born:

1925-12-08

Died:

2005-02-08

Century / Era:

1925s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

James Oscar Smith (December 8, 1928 – February 8, 2005) was an American jazz musician who helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, creating a link between jazz and 1960s soul music. In 2005, Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that America bestows upon jazz musicians. James Oscar Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia. He joined his father doing a song-and-dance routine in clubs at the age of six.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He began teaching himself to play the piano. When he was nine, Smith won a Philadelphia radio talent contest as a boogie-woogie pianist. After a period in the U.S. Navy, he began furthering his musical education in 1948, with a year at Royal Hamilton College of Music, then the Leo Ornstein School of Music in Philadelphia in 1949. He began exploring the Hammond organ in 1951.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

From 1951 to 1954, he played piano, then organ in Philly R&B bands like Don Gardner and the Sonotones. He switched to organ permanently in 1954 after hearing Wild Bill Davis play. Smith purchased his first Hammond organ, rented a warehouse to practice in, and emerged after little more than...

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Frequently Asked Questions about Jimmy Smith (musician)