[1] Smith was raised in Mississippi and later relocated to East St. Louis, Detroit and finally Chicago.

Smith sang in front of various blues bands around Chicago for many years.

He was initially influenced by Joe Williams, Jimmy Witherspoon and Brook Benton.

[1] He made his recording debut in 1991, singing on Dave Specter's first album, Bluebird Blues.

[4] Delmark Records issued Smith's solo debut album, Gotcha!, in 1994,[1] with Steve Freund playing guitar.