Bix Smith at Blues Alley  1- 18-1997. Part 2..
Channel: WoopumOutThereProd
Date: 17/11/2011

Bix Smith was born on 7/15/1938, in Blytheville, Arkansas. He lived in Jonesboro, Arkansas most of his life. His musical Genres are Jazz, Blues,and Swing.
Bix's first professional gig was in a cocktail lounge in Warsaw, Indiana.He was 18 years old and playing with a trio, this was in 1956. Then in 1958, he moved to Chicago where he played in Jazz bands til around 1961.
In 1961, he joined the Air-Force where He played with a variety of groups in Southern California including a dance band at Officer's Clubs and a Blues band that played off base. He also played in a Hawaiian group. In 1962, He was stationed in France 
and He joined the Robert Didier Orchestra and played with them from 1962 - 1965.
After the Air Force, He formed the Bix Smith Combo while attending classes. Yank Rachell, Blues Mandolin, played with the combo part of the time.
He moved back to Arkansas in 1973 and began playing lead guitar with a country band. After that stint He joined the Red Coats, a Jonesboro based Dance Band playing bass.
He helped form "Main Street Blues", this band played a lot of area gigs as well as Beale Street and he played the opening medley for the 1985 Handy awards show at the Orphium.
Later he was playing guitar with a traditional Jazz band called "The Over The Hill Gang" and bass with a 14 piece Swing Band called the "Townsmen." 

Also playing are Paul Moore, fiddle; Will Riley, guitar and bass; Dewey Hiler, guitar; John Sifford, drums, and Hairy Larry, guitar, bass, and harmonica. As you can hear it was a great night.



 Paul H. "Bix" Smith died at the age of 70, on February, 28, 2009.  He was a respected art professor and left behind a tremendous legacy of artwork from through the years.  His figurative work spanned his career, with a strong emphasis on the female form.  He was also a courtroom sketch artist, covering such trials as the Jonesboro school shootings and the West Memphis 3 trial.  [ Bio from the Delta Boogie site and the M2 Gallery.]