Byther Smith
b. 17 April 1933, Monticello, Mississippi, USA. Smith began playing guitar in church, but after settling in Chicago in 1958 he started singing blues and was tutored on guitar by Herbert Sumlin and Freddie Robinson. He recorded for several local labels (including, reputedly, Cobra and VeeJay), and worked with numerous gospel and blues groups, occasionally sitting in with his cousin J.B. LenoirIn the late '60s he left music, returning in the early '70s as house guitarist at the famed Theresa's Lounge in Chicago, and enjoying a minor hit for CJ Records with Give Me My White Robe. In 1983, Smith recorded an acclaimed album for Grits, with the follow-up two years later being reissued in 1991; Byther has also recorded for JSP. Smith is a modern, though traditionally-rooted Chicago bluesman with a very large repertoire.