King, Joe Williams, Vic Damone, Patrick Leonard, Leslie West (Mountain), Steve Forman, Will Lee, Elliott Randall, Bobby Kimball, Tommy Shaw, Darryl Jones, Jim Peterik, John Gary, Bruce Gaitsch, Eric Miyashiro, Clark Terry, Chuck Findley, Larry Carlton, Jaco Pastorius and many others.
He began backing up local musicians in his teens and had stints with Steve Forman's Eclectic Mouse and Joe Williams before the age of 21.
Smith joined the Chicago-based jazz-rock fusion band Chase in the fall of 1971 and recorded the album Ennea.
[8] Meanwhile, Smith formed the Chicago jazz-rock band Software with Johnson, Patrick Leonard, Bill Ruppert and Mark Colby.
He played on several thousand studio sessions, including records, movie tracks and hundreds of radio and TV commercials.
Smith was noted for his work with Chase in the April 2002 Modern Drummer article "Jazz/Rock Pioneers" in company with drummers Bobby Colomby (Blood, Sweat & Tears), Danny Seraphine (Chicago), Billy Cobham (Dreams, Mahavishnu Orchestra), and Jay Burrid (Chase).
Chase Revisited has been playing live at venues throughout the country, often featuring trumpet player Eric Miyashiro.