Fred Smith (born April 10, 1948, in New York) is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work with the rock band

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. He was the original bassist with Angel and the Snake, which changed names to Blondie and the Banzai Babies, and then Blondie. He quit in spring 1975 to replace

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and ...

who had left Television over disputes with

Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...

. Hell went on to form

The Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry ...

with

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played wit ...

. At the time, Television played at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

along with Blondie. According to Smith, "Blondie was like a sinking ship and Television was my favorite band." He stayed with the band till they broke up in 1978 and rejoined them when they reunited in 1992; the band has played off and on ever since. Smith also participated in the solo albums of the Television guitarists

and Richard Lloyd, and played with such artists as

The Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...

Willie Nile Willie Nile (born Robert Noonan; June 7, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980, Nile released his self-titled debut album. His early career was interrupted by various problems, but he eventually returned to recording and performing i ...

, Peregrins and The Revelons. From 1988 to 1989 he played bass, recorded, and toured with

The Fleshtones The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976. History 1976–1979 The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born September 18, 1955, New York City) an ...

. In 1999 he and his wife, artist Paula Cereghino, started making wine in their apartment on Houston Street in New York City's East Village. In 2003 they shifted production to Bloomington, NY and in 2007 formally established their artisanal winery, Cereghino Smith.

References

External links

* Fred Smithat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Cereghino Smith Winery- Link dead
1948 births Living people American rock bass guitarists Guitarists from New York City American male bass guitarists Television (band) members 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-bass-guitarist-stub