It's with great sadness that we have to report on the death of blues great Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Smith passed away on the morning of September 16, 2011 at his Chicago home, suffering from a stroke. The Chicago blues giant was 75 years old.
Smith was born in Helena, Arkansas in 1936, and after traveling to Chicago at the age of 17 to visit his mother, stayed in the Windy City. Smith taught himself harmonica and drums and quickly formed a blues trio with guitarist Bobby Lee Burns and drummer Clifton James. Fortune smiled on the young musician when he sat in for Muddy Waters Band drummer Francis Clay and was later asked to join the band; Smith would play behind Waters from 1961 through 1964.
The early-to-mid-1960s were financially leans times, however, and Smith temporarily retired from music to drive a cab and work other odd jobs. In 1968, Smith re-joined Waters' band, and he played and recorded with the Chicago blues legend until 1980, appearing on all of Waters' Grammy™ Award-winning mid-1970s albums. Leaving Waters' employ, Smith hooked up with a number of other former Waters' employees, including the great Pinetop Perkins and Calvin "Fuzz" Jones as the Legendary Blues Band. This outfit recorded four acclaimed albums during the 1980s and received several Grammy™ nominations.
Through the years, Smith recorded with a literal "who's who" of blues greats, from Waters and James Cotton to Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell, Homesick James, and Johnny Winter, among many others. Smith also pursued a moderately successful solo career, beginning with his 1995 Blind Pig Records debut, Bag Full of Blues, and he won an impressive twelve W.C Handy/Blues Music Awards (in 15 years) for his drumming. In 2010, Smith collaborated with his long-time friend Pinetop Perkins to record Joined At The Hip, the critically-acclaimed album winning both a Grammy™ for "Best Traditional Blues Album" and a Blues Music Award for "Traditional Blues Album of the Year." Smith's son, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith is also an acclaimed blues drummer.
Willie Smith was a one-of-a-kind talent; our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and many fans in Chicago and around the world.
Photo courtesy Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
Comments
Barb and I will miss you very much Willie. Thanks for your graciousness and for treating us like old friends when we saw you last. R.I.P. my friend.
Sorry to hear this sad news. I feel lucky to have seen both Willie and Pinetop Perkins in August 2010 at Riverfront Blues Festival in Wilmington DE. R.I.P.
i had the pleasure of seeing willie play many times in the chicago area. he was and is one of the best blues performers of our time may he rest in peace and may his music live on for ever
Have listened to willie drum for years. He was the best blues drummer that ever sat behind a drum kit. Met him 12 yrs ago through a mutual friend of Bob Margolin. What a nice man. No ego for Willie , even though he was the best. He will be missed. Pine Top and Willie in the same year ? Must be one hell of a blues jam up in heaven goin’ on . Rest in Peace Willie
I will miss this man dearly. I met Willie when he was playing with Tony O. We shared a special friendship of laughing and talking. Willie was a dear heart and a family man and he loved the blues. The last time I got to be with him, he was in Iceland, where I was working, and he was with Pine Top right before he died. Willie made me his guest and it was such a special night. I brought a couple of musicians from Iceland and they were in awe. Willie made me feel very special and my friends too and I never thought when I saw him, it would be the last time. Good bye my friend, I didn’t get a chance to tell you how much I love you and thanks for everything. I will miss you till the end of my days. Keep me a seat warm and put a good word in for me with the man up stairs. RIP to one of the last original blues men ever!