Josh Smith (born October 7, 1979) is an American blues guitar player from

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He now lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and is a record producer at his studio Flat V Studios. In 2019 ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

'' magazine put Smith number 16 on their list, "The 30 best blues guitarists in the world today".

Early life

Smith was born in 1979 in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, and raised in

. He began playing guitar when he was seven years old, and at 10 years old he began playing at blues festivals. He also began making albums when he was fourteen. By the time he was 18 he had released three albums. When he was 22 he got married and moved to

Career

When Smith was 16 he toured the United States with his band, Rhino Cats. The band released two independent albums, ''Born Under a Blue Sign'' and ''Woodsheddin. After the Rhino Cats Smith formed another band (a trio) which he called, Josh Smith and the Frost. He was 18 years old at the time and they released an album, ''Too Damn Cold''. It was produced by Jim Gaines. Throughout his career he has played guitar on the albums of

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Ricky Fanté Ricky Andrew Fanté (born November 4, 1970) is an American rhythm and blues singer, sound engineer, and songwriter. Career After serving in the United States Marine Corps for a few years after high school, a demo of his two-man group, produced ...

, and

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...

. Smith is also a record producer and he owns Flat V Studios in Los Angeles, California. He has produced albums for Artur Menezes, Reese Wynans ,

Eric Gales Eric Gales (born October 29, 1974), also known as Raw Dawg, is an American blues rock guitarist, originally hailed as a child prodigy. Gales has recorded 19 albums for major record labels and has done session and tribute work. He has also co ...

, Joanna Connor, Joanne Shaw Taylor,

Marc Broussard Marc Broussard (born January 14, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as "bayou soul", a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. He has released twelve studio albums, one li ...

, Larry McCray, Andy Timmons, and

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his inde ...

among others. ''Guitar World'' magazine put Smith at number 16 on their list, "The 30 best blues guitarists in the world today". In 2020, ''Rock and Blues Muse'' put Smith on their list of the "Top 15 Contemporary Blues Rock Guitarists 2020".

Discography

*Josh Smith & And The Rhino Cats – ''Woodsheddin, 1995 *Josh Smith & The Frost – ''Too Damn Cold'', 1997 *Josh Smith – ''Deep Roots'', 2006 *Josh Smith – ''Inception'', 2009 *Josh Smith – ''I'm Gonna Be Ready'', 2011 *Josh Smith – ''Don't Give Up On Me'', 2012 *Josh Smith – ''Over Your Head'', 2015 *Josh Smith – ''Still'', 2017 *Josh Smith – ''Burn to Grow'', 2018 *Josh Smith – ''Live at the Spud'', 2019 (Live at the Baked Potatoe, Los Angeles, 2018) *Josh Smith – ''Bird of Passage'', 2022

References

External links

Josh Smith IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Josh 1979 births Living people American male guitarists Progressive rock guitarists Musicians from Florida American blues guitarists 20th-century American guitarists