Early career In the early 1970s, Smith left Northeastern Pennsylvania for the
New Haven, Connecticut, area, where he played in a group called The Scratch Band, which also included his future Hall & Oates bandmate
Mickey Curry. In late 1977, Smith got his first break when he joined
Dan Hartman on his successful album
Instant Replay, including its hit
title track, and played guitar on Hartman’s US and European tour. Upon his return to the
East Coast, Smith moved to
Manhattan and became the guitarist for
Gilda Radner's 1979 Broadway show
Gilda Live. Radner and Smith became friends and married shortly afterward, divorcing in 1982. In 1981, Smith released his first solo album,
In the World.
Hall & Oates From 1979 to 1985, Smith played lead guitar with
Daryl Hall and John Oates, a band which also included
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk,
Charles DeChant and Mickey Curry. With Hall & Oates, Smith scored five U.S. #1 singles, including "
Private Eyes", "
Kiss on My List", "
Maneater", "
I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", and "
Out of Touch" as well as five consecutive multi-platinum albums:
Voices,
Private Eyes,
H2O, ''
Rock 'n Soul Part 1 and Big Bam Boom.'' Other U.S. Top 10 singles included "
Family Man", "
Say It Isn't So", "
Did It in a Minute" and "
Method of Modern Love".
Saturday Night Live era From 1985 to 1995, Smith served as the Saturday Night Live band's
bandleader and
co-musical director, along with longtime
SNL band keyboardist Cheryl Hardwick. Smith had become acquainted with
SNL creator
Lorne Michaels through show alumna Gilda Radner, to whom Smith was married from 1980 to 1982. After a five-year absence, Michaels was back at the show's helm for the
1985–1986 season, and hired Smith as part of his retooling. During his tenure on the show, Smith (alongside bandmate T-Bone Wolk) became well-known to television audiences for his emotive performances during "band shots," brief snippets of the band playing before
SNL went to commercial break. Smith and Wolk were parodied in this capacity in a
1993 episode of
The Simpsons. In addition to his onstage duties, Smith also advised Michaels on which musical acts to book on the show. He also served as the musical director for special events such as the 1988
Emmy Awards, the 1993
Rhythm and Blues Foundation Awards, Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert at
Madison Square Garden as well as acting as the musical director at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert in
Cleveland. Smith was fired from
SNL after the disastrous
1994–1995 season, which saw the show's lowest ratings in nineteen years. Smith was part of the same exodus that also saw the dismissal of 12 of the show's 15 cast members. He was replaced as bandleader by saxophonist
Lenny Pickett and keyboardist Cheryl Hardwick.
Post-SNL career In 1996, Smith received a Grammy nomination for his work with
Buddy Guy on the album
Live: The Real Deal. Smith released his third solo album,
Incense, Herbs and Oils in 1998. Smith served as the musical director and band leader honoring Bob Dylan and
Willie Nelson at the
Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. He also led bands for the
Muddy Waters tribute and the 1998 and 1999
Mark Twain Awards honoring
Richard Pryor and
Jonathan Winters, which aired on
PBS and
Comedy Central, respectively. From 2004 to 2006, Smith performed classic rock songs—as well as his own song, "Brownstown"—at
home games for the
Cleveland Browns. On December 12, 2012, he performed with Waters at
Madison Square Gardens for
The Concert for Sandy Relief. In August 2012, Smith performed for the
Republican Party and
Mitt Romney at the
2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Florida, as the convention's
house band. However, Smith said that he is not a Republican or political and saw the event as "just another job". In July 2016, Smith again led the house band for candidate
Donald Trump at the
2016 Republican National Convention in Ohio. Smith was one of the many guests appearing on NBC's
Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special on February 15, 2015. Ten years later, he also appeared on the
50th Anniversary Special. Smith has performed with
Jim Weider—formerly of
the Band and member of the Weight Band—on their
Masters of the Telecaster series. Smith and his wife Taylor Barton founded the concert series
Portraits in 2015.
Portraits has hosted artists including
Billy Squier,
Ethan Hawke,
the Bacon Brothers, and
the Avett Brothers. Smith made a
cameo appearance in the music video "Sudden Signs of Grace" (2020) by guitarist/songwriter
Tom Guerra. ==Personal life==