Rhonda Smith is a Canadian

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

, best known for her work with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Biography

Smith was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, Canada. Her family moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

when she was a child. She and her three siblings were encouraged to play music and she began playing

baritone horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

, keyboards, guitar, and eventually

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

. In addition to taking private classical training on upright bass, Smith attended

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montreal studying jazz performance. After gaining some experience in the local rock scene, she moved on to work with Canadian artists

Claude Dubois Claude André Dubois (born 24 April 1947) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Career Dubois was an early star of the Francophone musical '' Starmania''. He was a vocalist in the Canadian famine relief song " Tears Are Not Enough" and was nomina ...

Daniel Lavoie Daniel Lavoie (; born Daniel Joseph-Hubert-Gérald Lavoie, March 17, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and singer best known for his song " Ils s'aiment" and the role of Frollo in musical ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He releases albums and pe ...

Robert Charlebois Robert Charlebois (born June 25, 1944) is a Canadian author, composer, musician, performer and actor. Charlebois was born in Montreal, Quebec. Among his best known songs are ''Lindberg'' (the duo with Louise Forestier in particular), ''Ordi ...

and James Blovin. She won a

Juno award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album", for her work with Jim Hillman and The Merlin Factor. While attending a music convention in Germany, Smith met Sheila E. and gave her a press kit after learning Prince was putting a new band together. Two months later, Prince called and Smith went to

Paisley Park Paisley Park is a 65,000 square foot estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States, once owned by American musician Prince. It was opened to the public as a museum in October 2016. History Construction of the $10 million complex began in Jan ...

to record on the ''

Emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

'' album. Smith recorded and toured with Prince for almost 10 years. Other musicians she has worked with include

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

, and

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets (band), ...

. In 2000, she released her first solo record, ''Intellipop''.

Discography

* ''Intellipop'' (2000) * ''RS2'' (2006) * Won't come back (2021) * Won't come back Remix featuring TROY NoKA (2022) with the New Power Generation * '' Newpower Soul'' - 1998 Prince albums where she appears on * Emancipation - 1996 (5 tracks) * Christal Ball - 1998 * ''

Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic ''Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic'' is the twenty-third studio album by American recording artist Prince, who was at the time going by the unpronounceable "Love Symbol" (as shown on the album cover). Released on November 9, 1999, by NPG Records and ...

'' - 2001 (2 tracks) * '' One Nite Alone... Live!'' - 2002 (almost? all tracks) * ''

Xpectation ''Xpectation'' (subtitled "New Directions in Music By Prince") is the twenty-sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on January 1, 2003, by NPG Records. It is the first instrumental album released under Prince's o ...

'' - 2003 (all tracks) * N·E·W·S - 2003 (all tracks) * Musicology - 2004 (2 tracks) With Jeff Beck *'' Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum'' - 2010 With Chaka Khan *'' Come 2 My House'' - 1998

References

External links

Official website
Living people 21st-century Canadian bass guitarists 20th-century Black Canadian musicians Canadian women bass guitarists Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Black Canadian musicians {{Canada-musician-stub