On this day (July 12) in 2019, country singer-songwriter Russell Smith died from complications of cancer at age 70. In addition to fronting country-rock outfit The Amazing Rhythm Aces and novelty bluegrass act Run C&W, Smith was also a master songwriter, writing number-one songs recorded by Randy Travis, Don Williams, T. Graham Brown, and Ricky Van Shelton. Today, we’re remembering him on the seventh anniversary of his passing.
Born June 17, 1949, in Nashville, Tennessee, Howard Russell Smith grew up in Lafayette about 60 miles from Music Row. He began writing songs in high school, eventually joining a rock-and-roll band.
Videos by American Songwriter
Never accused of being a purist, Smith had just one criteria for the music he would play.
“If it had soul, then it was cool,” he said. “I mean, there’s good everything… it’s got to do something to you… make your toes shoot up in your boots.”
How Russell Smith Got His Start
After graduating from high school, Smith moved to Knoxville, where he formed the band Fatback with several future members of the Amazing Rhythm Aces.
The group relocated to Memphis in the early ’70s, changing their name to the Amazing Rhythm Aces. Their 1975 debut album, Stacked Deck, yielded the crossover hit “Third Rate Romance”, which reached number 11 on the country charts and climbed to number 14 on the pop charts.
The band followed that up with their lone top 10 country hit, “Amazing Grace (Used to Be Her Favorite Song)”, which reached number nine.
The Aces recorded six albums with ABC Records before disbanding, winning the 1976 Grammy Award for Country Vocal Performance by a Group with “The End Is Not in Sight (The Cowboy Tune)”.
After the Aces’ split in 1981, Smith signed a solo contract with Capitol Records and released two albums: Russell Smith (1982) and The Boy Next Door (1984). In 1988, he switched to Epic Records, where he recorded his highest-charting solo hit, “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight”. It peaked at number 37 on the country singles chart.
He Was Also a Hit Songwriter
But the bulk of Smith’s post-Aces success was in writing songs for other artists. His resume includes the number-one singles “Look Heart, No Hands” (Randy Travis); “Don’t Go to Strangers” (T. Graham Brown); “Heartbeat in the Darkness” (Don Williams); and Ricky Van Shelton’s “Keep It Between the Lines”.
[RELATED: I Can’t Believe No One Remembers These 4 Hit Rock Songs From 1975]
Before reuniting with the Amazing Rhythm Aces in 1994, Smith briefly fronted the bluegrass novelty group Run C&W. Sticking to mostly covers and parody songs, Run C&W also consisted of banjoist Bernie Leadon, formerly of the Eagles and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; along with Nashville songwriters Jim Photoglo and Vince Melamed.
Russell Smith continued recording with the Amazing Rhythm Aces until his death.
Featured image by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images