Tomorrow (Friday, April 11) marks the end of an era for professional musician Terry Smith. Big Lick Bluegrass Festival near Oakboro, NC will be his last show in his home state. With only five other dates across other states, he will retire from 60 years in bluegrass music at the end of May. As a founding member, bassist, and baritone singer with The Grascals, he has earned his share of accolades. The Grascals have been nominated three times for Bluegrass Album of the Year at the Grammys, and Terry was awarded Bass Player of the Year at SPBGMA in 2022.
Bandmates past and present weighed in on his upcoming retirement.
Grascals’ founding member, Danny Roberts, relayed…
“It’s hard for me to believe that Smitty will no longer be with the Grascals… These 21 years have flown by. I had never played with Terry before the Grascals started in 2004, and I can say with all certainty that I have worked with one of the very BEST bass players and singers EVER in our business and, on top of his musical talent, he is one of the funniest people I’ve ever known! He always has the perfect comeback for every situation, and I think that he would’ve made a great writer for sitcoms.
Congratulations on your retirement, Mr. Smith… You are going to be missed on and off the stage!”
Another founding member, Jamie Johnson, said….
“Smitty is one of the very best in the business at everything he does. Whether playing the bass or singing his harmony parts, it’s always spot on. Aside from his musical genius, he is one of the most humble humans I have ever known, and incredibly funny. He has the best one-liners of anyone I’ve ever met.
I love you, Smitty, and while I’m happy for you to get to retire and enjoy your home life with LuAnn and your children and grandchildren, I’m sad at the same time. We’ve been pals long before the Grascals, and will be pals long after. What a ride it has been, Smitty, I love you buddy… AK”
Grascals banjoist, Kristin Scott Benson, had plenty to say.
“It’s hard to describe the last 17 years, sharing the road and stage with Terry Smith. I grew up seeing him and El (Terry Eldredge) with the Osborne Brothers, so it was a thrill and privilege to join their band. I’ve always known that Smitty was a top-tier musician. I remember hearing Sonny Osborne brag on him during his introduction, saying he was the best bass player anyone would hear that weekend at the festival. He was right. Smitty is a chameleon – vocally, instrumentally, and even personally; he can quickly adapt to any environment and make it better (or more fun). I’ve seen him in clutch situations in the studio, being asked to match a singer who may be very different stylistically, and he’s always able to immediately conform and sing any part. He blends well into any trio you throw at him. Instrumentally he’s beyond reproach.
Larry Cordle once described his bass playing as ‘riding a Cadillac,’ and I totally understood what he meant. Smitty listens and lets the band float, but always brings everyone back together, in a gentle, gliding kind of way.
If you know him personally, you realize that he’s one of the funniest guys ever. He’s so quick and witty! Got a health issue? He just might write a song about it! He’s made us laugh ’till we’ve cried, countless times. Sometimes, El would get the credit for a great one-liner, but he was actually repeating what Smitty had just whispered in his ear.
And that’s pretty indicative of who Smitty is. He’s exceptional, but quite content to let everyone else shine, even though we are resting on the immovable foundation he so unassumingly provides. That doesn’t just apply to his bandmates, but also to his friendship and family. He’s been in the business a long time and has earned this season of life.
I pray he enjoys many years of ease with LuAnn, the kids, and grandkids, but dang, I miss my friend.”
John Bryan added…
“It has been an absolute honor and a privilege to share the stage and sing with Terry Smith for the last ten years. Terry has been influential in my career and has taught me so much about singing and playing music. He is going to be missed tremendously. Thank you so much for always being there as a mentor and one of my best friends. It has been amazing getting to work with you, and I hope you enjoy your well-deserved retirement.
Terry Smith – the best bass player ever! AK!”
Grascals fiddler, Jamie Harper, put in a good word as well.
“When I was around nine years old, I attended my first big bluegrass festival in Cherokee, NC at the Happy Holiday Campground. It just so happens that the first band I saw was the Osborne Brothers with Smitty on basss, and as a matter of fact, they were playing as we walked in the festival grounds. That festival and the music I heard was what set the fire in me to want to play like all the musicians I heard and saw on that stage that weekend. Fast-forward 30 years and I have to say it’s been an absolute honor and privilege to share this stage with Terry Smith, pick his brain about things, laugh (on and off stage), and watch him cut his gig efforts with a calmness and poise that very few have.
Smitty, wish you the best retirement ever. Love you pal.”
David Talbot, previous and founding banjo player with the Grascals said…
“It doesn’t take me long to sing the praises of Terry Smith…master musician, singer, and songwriter. Talk about talent and soul…he always FEELS the music, which makes playing with him a fresh experience every time. To me, Terry is the heartbeat and foundation of any musical ensemble he’s a part of. He just makes the music feel effortless and a joy to play.”
Big Lick promoter, Jeff Branch, concurred.
“Terry Smith has always been one of my favorite bass players. How fitting it is for him to be playing his last gig in North Carolina this Friday, him being a North Carolinian.”
Terry Smith’s Legacy
Smith was born into bluegrass, His dad, Pat, was a square dance fiddler and his mother, Hazel, a journalist, publicist, and songwriter. Terry started his music career at age five, playing mandolin with his dad, and his older brother, Billy, near Reidsville, NC, and never stopped.
LuAnn, Smith’s wife, shared
“Terry has been fortunate to play music his entire life. He’s never taken a 40-hour-a-week job. He switched to bass full-time very early in his career.
Terry attended and performed at the first ever bluegrass festival, Labor Day weekend, September 1965, in Fincastle, VA, as well as the early Camp Springs Festivals on Boone Road where his mother, Hazel Boone Smith’s entire family lived, down the same road.”
Terry elaborated…
“We (first) played as the Smith Family. My dad put instruments in our hands and we learned by playing. I remember being excited when I learned a G run. Daddy was in demand. We played everywhere.”
The Smith Brothers even appeared on the Arthur Smith television show on WBT in Charlotte. Then they started playing with their cousin, Alan O’Bryant.
“We were inseparable,” Terry recalled.
They first played together as the Camp Springs New Grass Boys. When they relocated to Nashville the trio formed a band called Blue Haze (named after the Smiths’ mama), with fiddler, Mike Hartgrove. Bluegrass music became their livelihood and passion.
“I never thought about it being my life’s work,” Terry reflected. “I had no idea where it would lead.”
In 1978, Terry made his Grand Ole Opry debut playing with Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys. That led to weekly appearances on the Opry playing with Wilma Lee Cooper & the Clinch Mountain Clan through the ’80s.
Terry then joined the Osborne Brothers and played bass for the brother duo for 13 years (1989-2002). During this same time, the Smith Brothers worked as a country duo for CBS Records (1989-90).
The bassist became a founding member of the Sidemen that played weekly at the Station Inn. In 2002, Terry played the Opry with the Mike Snider String Band for a couple of years.
Then in Feb 2004, Terry helped found the Grascals, and has held that position ever since. Quite a feat for a bluegrass musician! Not to mention that he was part of Dolly Parton & the Mighty Fine Band (2004-05), and filled in for numerous other professional acts.
Terry is proud of the Grascals’ sustainability.
“We hit the stage with energy and in 21 years, we’ve had very little turnover. I feel blessed that we’ve been able to do that.”
He also is grateful for his traveling experiences.
“Billy once got in touch with the State Department. We sent a tape and were accepted. It was a goodwill American music tour. We played Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Liberia, and Congo. There were good crowds at our shows. We went over great.”
The touring musician has also been to Japan five times.
“With the Osborne Brothers, I played on a tour throughout Europe that included Monroe. I also played in Germany with them. Then with the Grascals, I played in Greece, France, and the Yukon. A guy took us in a plane and I walked on a glacier.
I’m a country boy from North Carolina. I’d never have done those things if I hadn’t played bluegrass. I haven’t made a ton of money, but I’ve done things most people only dream of.”
Terry and his big brother worked with other A-listers in Nashville, and made names for themselves in the songwriting industry.
Nashville musician Craig Duncan shared…
“I met Billy and Terry Smith when they were teenagers. Even then they were an active force in the Nashville, Tennessee bluegrass scene. We worked many shows together through the ’80s and ’90s, including a TV show called Barn Dance with LeVar Burton and Roy Clark. Playing fiddle with the rhythm of the Smith brothers’ guitar and bass is like riding a Rolls-Royce, as they are so tight and smooth, you never have to think about the beat.”
Big brother Billy Smith recalled…
“Brother Terry and I sang on a couple of records for Vern Gosdin, Mike Henderson, and Ken Mellons. We wrote for Major Bob Music. We also had two major record deals (Epic and RCA). CMT was active and playing. We had a number one video on their TV station.
We recorded two albums (1992,1999) for Red Clay Records. In 1996, we recorded two albums for K-Tel records. First, we did Tribute to the Grateful Dead. It was rock-n-roll bluegrass. Then we cut Tribute to Bill Monroe, the last studio recording with Monroe.”
The Smiths are also prolific songwriters, as Russell Moore attests.
“Billy and Terry Smith have been a thread in IIIrd Tyme Out’s music fabric almost since day one. The title song of our third release on Rebel Records, Grandpa’s Mandolin (1993), was written by Billy, Terry, and Mark Irwin. It is still liked and requested today. They’re both talented songwriters and instrumentalists and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them over the years. Other songs we’ve recorded that they wrote, or co-wrote, include I Can’t Stay Here Anymore, Giving My Soul Back To Him, Snow Angel, He’ll Take You In, and Whippoorwill. They are a class act.”
Billy had high praise for his younger brother.
“He’s the best brother, friend, and undeniably the best acoustic bluegrass bass player to ever breathe a breath. The rest of the bluegrass world needs to realize that!”
Terry is looking forward to his retirement, and spending time with family.
“I was very fortunate to have experienced bluegrass music at a most remarkable time. I got to witness pretty much all of the legendary performers live at some point.
I was also blessed to have worked consistently throughout the years at something that I truly loved.
Bluegrass has taken me places that I could never have imagined I would go, and I will always love the experiences, the memories, and all the people I’ve known over the years because of it. My brother, Billy Smith, my mom and dad, my cousin Alan O’Bryant, The Osborne Brothers (who I got to sing in the trio with!) Jimmy Martin, Mike Snider, Wilma Lee Cooper, Dolly Parton, and the list goes on.
I will miss my Grascals bandmates a lot. We’ve had adventures that people dream of having. I will always think of you as family. and I love you all very much. I thank the good Lord for this life, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter in retirement with my sweet (wife) LuAnn, the kids, and grandkids.
I am a very blessed man.”
Farewell, Terry Smith. You’ve given us all so much!
All photos courtesy of Terry and LuAnn Smith.
