associated_acts years_active notable_instruments birth_place name background birth_date instrument genre article_title birth_name occupation
trooper 1967 -- present fender stratocaster , gibson les paul london , england brian `` smitty '' smith solo_singer 26 march 1949 guitar rock , pop brian smith -lrb- canadian musician -rrb-
 brian william smith musician
brian smith -lrb- canadian musician -rrb-

brian william smith -lrb- born march 26 , 1949 -rrb- is a british -- canadian guitarist , known for being a founding member of the rock band trooper .
smith began performing on the guitar before he was fifteen years old .
some of his first gigs were playing with don geppert and anne attenborough , in a band which played hawaiian music .
smith has performed with trooper along with ra mcguire since 1975 , when their first album was released , to the present day .
he currently resides in langley , bc .
at the 1999 socan awards , smith and songwriting partner ra mcguire received socan classic awards for `` we 're here for a good time '' and `` santa maria '' , presented for songs that have received over 100,000 documented radio plays .
smith received a third socan classic award in 2005 , for `` oh , pretty lady . ''
smith and trooper continue to tour and perform across canada .
as part of the vancouver 2010 winter olympics festivities , smith was featured when trooper performed on february 21 , 2010 .
coverage of the event was broadcast in canada and around the world on networks such as ctv and muchmusic .
on november 19 , 2012 , smith was presented with a socan national achievement award , which is presented to artists who have had outstanding success , predominantly in the canadian music industry , over the span of their career .
he also received three socan classic awards for `` raise a little hell '' , `` general hand grenade '' , and `` janine '' , co-written with songwriting partner ra mcguire .
