[2] His mother died during his birth, and he was raised by a stepmother; his father Yehuda Leyb Smulewitz was a cantor.

[3] When his father died seven years later, Solomon went into the tailoring trade while still singing in cantorial choirs in exchange for his meals.

He was embraced by some of the leading figures of the New York Yiddish Theatre, including Jacob P. Adler and David Kessler.

His song "Khave" was so popular the famous Russian singer Feodor Chaliapin included it in his repertoire.

Smulewitz had a strong and piercing tenor voice which suited early recording capabilities well; after 1920 both his manner of singing and style of composition went out of fashion.

Smulewitz fell on hard times and, to make a living, continuously toured the United States and Canada from Halifax to Calgary and Winnipeg, often with his daughter Dorothy, without much success.