Topic: Robert Curtis Smith

[Johnm]

Hi all,
When I was in England, Michael Roach kindly burned me a copy of the Robert Curtis Smith album from the 60s on Prestige Bluesville. ?It's a rare one. ?I taught a tune by him that I got from an anthology at Port Townsend last summer, "I'm Goin' Away", in the unwound third string class. ?I haven't had a chance yet to give the disc a good listen yet, but am hopeful that it will include more material worth picking up. ?Michael also told me that Paul Oliver said he has more recordings of Robert Curtis Smith that he did in his (Paul's) archives, that have never been released, due to "lack of interest". ?I wonder how much stuff like that is out there.
John ? ?

[Slack]

Hi John,

I've enjoyed playing "I'm going away" (speed is a bit lacking though) so I'll be interested to see if you can mine any other gems from your recording.

How was England?  Did the "only play bottleneck" group show up a tthe camp?

[Johnm]

Hi John,
England was fun, and some of the "bottleneck only" contingent were at the Guitar Festival. One of the most fun aspects of the weekend was doing a workshop on two of the elder statesmen of Blue Goose Records, Shirley Griffith and Bill Williams.  I am out the door to teach at a weekend workshop in Canada, will provide more details when I return.
All Best,
John

[Johnm]

Just a heads up for those of you who might be interested.  I'm in the midst of figuring out an unbelievably cool Robert Curtis Smith tune for Port Townsend, but am going to need some Weenie assistance in figuring out the lyrics to the main line of the refrain.  For working on Robert Curtis, Robert Belfour, et al, you may wish to stock up on some unwound third strings in the.018-.021 range.  I will bring some extras, too.  See you soon.
John

[Slack]

What a tease!  

One of these days John, we're going to help you learn how to make an MP3 on that Mac of yours... sometimes manipulating the technology helps.

I'll bring extra unwound thirds also, I bought some in bulk last August and have plenty left! (some .20's and .22's, the .22's are about right for my wimpy fingers)

cheers,

[Johnm]

Hi John,
You are probably right--I'm certainly not above trying to drum up a little interest in my class.  I am sure looking forward to camp and it's coming right up.
John

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I thought I would resurrect this topic on one of my favorite under-recognized country Blues musicians from the '60s.  In preparation for this year's Port Townsend Workshop, I found myself on the Arhoolie Website, looking at their blues records and the tune and artist selection.  When looking at the track list for "I Have to Paint My Face", a selection of Mississippi blues recorded in 1960 and one of the earliest items in the Arhoolie catalog, I noticed several cuts by R.C. Smith.  I realized this was probably the elusive Robert Curtis Smith, and requested Quimper to order the CD for PT.  Sure enough, it turned out to be so, and Robert Curtis had several excellent tracks on the anthology.  There are also some very strong cuts by a young and robust-sounding Sam Chatmon, including the title track, which offers a very unusual depiction of an ethnic identity crisis.  The whole CD is excellent, and offers further proof, if it was necessary, that great and varied Country Blues survived in Mississippi well into the post-War period.
All best,
Johnm 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Just in case you missed the announcement, John D. posted the addition of Robert Curtis Smith's "Clarksdale Blues" Bluesville album from the 1960s to the Juke last night, courtesy of Michael Roach.  There is a lot of great stuff on the album, and since Smith was pretty young when it was recorded, it is not entirely implausible that he is still alive.  Does anyone know if he is still alive?  Perhaps if so, he is still playing music.
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

I found this at the Hightone Records website. No mention of whether RC Smith is alive or not (tone suggests not) but interesting:

Various Artists
From Mississippi To Chicago
[HMG1008]    $13.49
From Mississippi To Chicago

This album of solo blues and gospel is composed of recordings made in Mississippi by Matthew Block. It includes five previously unreleased tracks by R.L. Burnside on both electric and acoustic guitar. There are two unreleased songs each by Pinetop Perkins and Eddie Cusic. Of great interest to blues lovers will be five new recordings of the truly legendary Robert Curtis Smith. R.C. Smith made a fine album for the Prestige Bluesville label in the 1960s -- it was one of the best albums in the Bluesville series. Soon thereafter, Smith disappeared from the blues world, but 30 years later, he was rediscovered living in Chicago.

He had given up blues in the passing years, but he continued to play in church, evolving a great style that brings to mind the work of one of the great bluesmen of the 1960s, Robert Pete Williams. The autobiographical piece "Lye Water Conversion" proves Smith to be just as good at inventing songs on the spot as Lightnin' Hopkins and Robert Pete Williams. This album also introduces the very down-home piano work of Boogaloo Ames, whose version of Avery Parrish's "After Hours" is an album highlight.

Tracks:
R.L. Burnside: Poor Black Mattie
Pinetop Perkins: Kansas City
Robert Curtis Smith: The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow
Boogaloo Ames: Tommy Dorsey's Boogie Woogie
R.L. Burnside: See My Jumper Hangin' On the Line
Robert Curtis Smith: Lye Water Conversion
Pinetop Perkins: Everyday I Have the Blues
R.L. Burnside: Fireman Ring the Bell
Eddie Cusic: Gonna Lose a Good Man
R.L. Burnside: Skinny Woman
Robert Curtis Smith: Thank You
Robert Curtis Smith: Milky White Way
R.L. Burnside: Bad Luck
Robert Curtis Smith: Calvary
Boogaloo Ames: After Hours

[Stefan Wirz]

Richard Ray Farrell plays RCS's 'Lonely Widower' (hear a sound clip at CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rrfarrell2

[Bunker Hill]

In the small published portions of interview in Conversation With The Blues he's seems to have been far from happy with his lot. Paul Oliver sums him up with the sentence "...he is resigned to a life of penury, of gruellung toil interspersed with periods of wasteful activity and, as in the past, jail without trial."

I seem to recall a Blues Unlimited news item reporting that in 1969 "he joined the church".

[Johnm]

Thanks, Uncle Bud and Bunker Hill, for the additional information on Robert Curtis Smith.  His religious material sounds intriguing; if it is indeed in the league of Robert Pete Williams's religious material it could be sensational.  Based on your description from the Oliver book, Bunker Hill, it sounds like joining the church may have been a good choice.
All best,
Johnm

[LoneWolf]

Sorry for the ignorance... Is Robert Curtis Smith still alive?

[Bunker Hill]

See tags for a previous RCS discussion which touched upon this. He seemed to drop off the radar and it's not known what happened to him. He was born circa 1930 so conceivably may still be alive. Paul Oliver summed up Curtis's possible future existence as:

"Born in 1930 he is resigned to a life of penury, of gruellling toil interspersed with periods of wasteful activity and, as in the past, probably jail without trial" (Conversation With The Blues, 1965 p. 196)

[Bunker Hill]

Robert Ford kindly reminds me that Smith was recorded in the 1990s by Matthew Block singing gospel numbers, one of which appeared on a Hightone CD (see Stefan's discography). Robert accompanied this information with the following from the Hightone website:

"This album of solo blues and gospel is composed of recordings made in Mississippi by Matthew Block.... Of great interest to blues lovers will be five new recordings of the truly legendary Robert Curtis Smith. R.C. Smith made a fine album for the Prestige Bluesville label in the 1960s -- it was one of the best albums in the Bluesville series. Soon thereafter, Smith disappeared from the blues world, but 30 years later, he was rediscovered living in Chicago.

He had given up blues in the passing years, but he continued to play in church, evolving a great style that brings to mind the work of one of the great bluesmen of the 1960s, Robert Pete Williams. The autobiographical piece "Lye Water Conversion" proves Smith to be just as good at inventing songs on the spot as Lightnin' Hopkins and Robert Pete Williams."

Anybody here a resident of Chicago?