Buster Smith played saxophone for a number of prominent band leaders including Duke Ellington and Earl Hines as well as vocalist Ella Fitzgerald.
18 Facts About Buster Smith
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2.
Buster Smith recorded his only album as leader in 1959 and despite intending to record a follow-up, he was injured in an accident and nothing else was released.
3.
Buster Smith was born and raised in Alsdorf, Texas, a small township near Telico in the outskirts of Dallas, where he attended school as a child.
4.
Buster Smith was the third of five boys and had no sisters, though both of his older brothers died in childhood of measles.
5.
At the age of four years, Buster was playing the organ with his brother, pianist Boston Smith; Buster played the keys and Boston stepped on the pedals.
6.
In 1919, Buster Smith picked cotton for a week to earn himself the money to buy a $3.50 clarinet.
7.
Buster Smith learned to play several instruments by the time he was eighteen years old.
8.
Buster Smith joined the Voodie White Trio, playing Alto saxophone and clarinet.
9.
The time with the medicine shows led to Oran "Hot Lips" Page inviting Buster Smith to join his group, the Oklahoma City Blue Devils, in 1925.
10.
When Buster Smith joined the Blue Devils, the line-up consisted of Walter Page, Oran Page, Lester Young, Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, and Emir "Bucket" Coleman.
11.
Basie and Page both left the group; however Buster Smith decided to stay on, though this was very short lived and soon after he left.
12.
Buster Smith gained a great amount of influence in the Texan music community and industry.
13.
Buster Smith mentored legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker during the 1930s, developing a "father-son relationship" through mentoring Parker.
14.
In 1941, Buster Smith decided to return to Dallas and to cease touring, though he remained active in the local music scene.
15.
Buster Smith performed session work with artists such as Pete Johnson's Boogie-Woogie Boys, Eddie Durham, Leo "Snub" Mosley, Bon and His Buddies, and the Don Redman Orchestra.
16.
In 1959, Buster Smith led his first solo recording session in Fort Worth, as prompted by Atlantic Records.
17.
Buster Smith led a dance music band until 1980, and played in the Legendary Revelations in the mid-1980s.
18.
Buster Smith died in Dallas on August 10,1991, of a heart attack.