225:, and his guitar playing was similar in style to that of other Texas guitarists around in his lifetime. One factor that set him apart from his contemporaries was his lyrical compositions, which were highly original. On more than one occasion, his verses were so full that he had to split the song between both sides of the three-minute limitation imposed by the standard 10" 78-rpm disc.
283:
on
September 18 and 19, 1930. "Howling Wolf Blues" (parts one and two) was issued by Vocalion (Vocalion 1558) as his first single. Several sources have noted that his guitar was often out of tune, even on some of his recordings, and Shaw commented that Smith was not an accomplished guitarist. Another
288:
managed to mistake this for "Funny Paper" Smith, and that is how he was billed on his earliest releases. He recorded almost twenty songs for
Vocalion in 1930 and 1931, including the aforementioned "Howling Wolf Blues", from which he acquired another pseudonym, "The Howling Wolf".
305:
In 1931, Smith was arrested after being involved in a fight in a gambling establishment and allegedly killing a man in an argument over a woman. He was jailed on a charge of murder and spent a few years in a Texas penitentiary.
296:
with "Funny Papa Smith" stitched upon it. Between
September 1930 and April 1935, he recorded forty-one songs, but only half that number were released at that time. Around this time he performed on weekends with Thomas Shaw.
210:, Magnolia Harris, and Dessa Foster. His best-known song was "Howling Wolf Blues", of which several variants were recorded. Many of his original recordings were unreleased at the time; he had a brief recording career with
338:
It has been reported that he died in 1940, but the blues historians Bob Eagle and Eric S. LeBlanc reckoned in their published research that it was "after 1947". Eagle later suggested that, in fact, Smith died in
240:
Smith's birth date is not known for certainty, but he may have been born in the 1880s or so, as the child of Amos Smith and Hattie Webb, and to have been born in east Texas. The
322:, Black Boy Shine, Magnolia Harris, and Dessa Foster. More than one source noted that Magnolia Harris was probably a pseudonym for the contractually obliged
178:, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Little is known about Smith, and some reported details of his life may be apocryphal. He was a
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gives his birth year as "between 1885 and 1890". Researcher Bob Eagle, however, suggests that he was born around 1910 in
366:"SMITH, JOHN T. [FUNNY PAPA] | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)"
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On occasion the recording company would call him "The Howlin Wolf". Chester
Burnett, who became more widely known as
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255:. He married in the 1920s and spent most of the decade as an itinerant musician, travelling around Texas and
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279:, Texas, area in the 1920s and 1930s, but he never recorded there. His first recordings were made in
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The World Don't Owe Me
Nothing: The Life and Times of Delta Bluesman Honeyboy Edwards
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Deep Ellum and
Central Track: Where the Black and White Worlds of Dallas Converged
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162:(between 1885 and 1890 – possibly 1940, or c. 1910 – 1979), variously known as
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oddity was that although Smith called himself "Funny Papa", his record label
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His first professional role involved him working at the
Lincoln Theater in
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Blues Who's Who: A Biographical
Dictionary of Blues Singers
470:. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Tshaonline.org
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In 1935, he recorded some songs for the
Vocalion label in
429:. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 538.
720:Big Book of the Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia
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756:
576:"J. T. 'Funny Paper' Smith (The Howling Wolf),
543:. Texas A&M University Press. p. 110.
537:Govenar, Alan B.; Brakefield, Jay F. (1998).
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402:""Funny Papa" Smith Illustrated Discography"
692:. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House.
221:Smith's music has been compared to that of
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16:American guitarist, singer and songwriter
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825:20th-century American male singers
578:Complete Issued Titles (1930–1931)
464:"Smith, John T. (Funny Papa)]"
242:Texas State Historical Association
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845:20th-century American songwriters
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491:Laurie E. Jasinski (2012-02-22).
58:between 1885 and 1890, or c. 1910
820:20th-century American guitarists
707:. New York: St. Martin's Press.
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499:Texas A&M University Press
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790:20th-century American singers
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830:African-American songwriters
468:The Handbook of Texas Online
427:Blues: A Regional Experience
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835:African-American guitarists
722:. New York: Penguin Books.
214:. All are now available on
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275:. He also was seen in the
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34:John T. Smith or Otis Cook
840:American male songwriters
775:American blues guitarists
718:Santelli, Robert (1994).
650:Edwards, David "Honeyboy"
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815:American male guitarists
805:Vocalion Records artists
688:Harris, Sheldon (1979).
629:"J. T. Funny Papa Smith"
601:"Howlin' Wolf Interview"
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292:Smith reportedly wore a
605:The Arhoolie Foundation
494:Handbook of Texas Music
328:Alger "Texas" Alexander
326:. He toured Texas with
269:Alger "Texas" Alexander
795:Songwriters from Texas
780:American blues singers
582:. Document-records.com
71:possibly 1940, or 1979
810:Guitarists from Texas
800:Texas blues musicians
703:Koster, Rick (2000).
341:Bastrop County, Texas
246:Bastrop County, Texas
223:Blind Lemon Jefferson
631:. Thebluestrail.com
182:street musician in
172:"Funny Paper" Smith
48:"Funny Paper" Smith
216:compilation albums
194:; Smith played at
168:"Funny Papa" Smith
46:"Funny Papa" Smith
741:Thebluestrail.com
316:Fort Worth, Texas
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103:Singer-songwriter
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310:Later recordings
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212:Vocalion Records
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765:1880s births
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669:. Retrieved
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633:. Retrieved
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230:Howlin' Wolf
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140:1920s – 1939
136:Years active
770:1940 deaths
705:Texas Music
610:October 27,
343:, in 1979.
265:Thomas Shaw
261:juke joints
200:juke joints
114:Instruments
97:Occupations
83:Texas blues
23:J. T. Smith
759:Categories
671:2016-11-30
635:2016-11-30
586:2016-11-30
556:2016-11-30
514:2015-07-15
474:2016-11-30
408:2016-11-30
372:2022-12-07
347:References
301:Conviction
30:Birth name
404:. Wirz.de
330:in 1939.
188:Louisiana
652:(1997).
286:Vocalion
257:Oklahoma
192:Oklahoma
149:Vocalion
106:Musician
281:Chicago
196:parties
180:busking
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277:Dallas
271:, and
190:, and
174:, and
145:Labels
126:Guitar
76:Genres
63:, U.S.
334:Death
184:Texas
121:Vocal
88:Blues
61:Texas
724:ISBN
709:ISBN
694:ISBN
660:ISBN
612:2019
545:ISBN
503:ISBN
431:ISBN
68:Died
55:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.