Howard Elbert Smither (November 15, 1925, Pittsburg, Kansas – February 1, 2020, Chapel Hill, North Carolina)[1] was an American author, musicologist and historian of music.
He is the uncle of musician Chris Smither and younger brother of the late Romance Language professor William J. Smither (1916-2007).
[2] He completed his BA at Hamline University in 1950.
He completed his MA at Cornell University in 1952.
[1] He received the 1978 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award.