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Terry Smith

Musician · b. 1960 · Reidsville, North Carolina
Best known for Bass

Terry Smith spent more than four decades as one of the most-recorded bluegrass bassists in Nashville — thirteen years with the Osborne Brothers, the founding bass chair of the Grascals from 2004 to 2025, and the player on Bill Monroe's final recording session.

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  • Born June 15, 1960 in Reidsville, North Carolina; raised in a musical family with mother Hazel Smith (the country songwriter and journalist), father Patrick, and older brother Billy Smith. Started on mandolin at age 5 and switched to bass.
  • Made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1978 with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys; spent the 1980s with Wilma Lee Cooper and the Clinch Mountain Clan as Opry regulars.
  • Joined the Osborne Brothers in 1989 and stayed thirteen years through 2002, recording across the band's late catalog and appearing on Bill Monroe's final studio session on February 21, 1996.
  • Recorded with brother Billy Smith as the Smith Brothers / Billy & Terry Smith duo, including a country deal on Epic/CBS in 1989–1990 and later acoustic / bluegrass releases through the 1990s.
  • Co-founded the Grascals in February 2004 with Terry Eldredge, Jamie Johnson, Jimmy Mattingly, Dave Talbot, and Danny Roberts; sang the baritone vocal part in the band's quartet harmonies.
  • The Grascals won IBMA Entertainer of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and earned three Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album under Terry's tenure.
  • Won the SPBGMA Bass Player of the Year award in 2022.
  • Retired from the Grascals and from full-time bluegrass performance at the end of May 2025 after roughly sixty years on stage.

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