Billy Smith
Musician
Best known for
Songwriter
Billy Smith is a North Carolina guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose plainspoken bluegrass and acoustic-country songs have been cut across the traditional circuit. He performed as half of Billy & Terry Smith with his younger brother and later led the Tennessee Plow Cleaners.
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- Born in 1956 and raised in Caswell County, North Carolina.
- Grew up performing, and shared stages with Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, and Jimmy Martin.
- Worked as a duo with his brother Terry Smith through the mid-1990s as Billy & Terry Smith, recording several albums together.
- Formed the Tennessee Plow Cleaners with David Talbot on banjo, Shad Cobb on fiddle, and his wife Marilyn on upright bass.
- Wrote “Crazy Heart” with Terry Smith and Sharon Higgins; James King cut it on Lonesome and Then Some (1995) and the Lonesome River Band on One Step Forward (1996).
- Co-wrote “Carry Me Across the Mountain” with Jeff White and John Pennell; Dan Tyminski made it the title track of his 2000 album.
- His songs have also been recorded by Del McCoury and the Osborne Brothers, among other traditional acts.
