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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Cal Smith| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Calvin Grant Shofner| alias =| birth_date = Birthdate and age|1932|4|7| origin = Gans, Oklahoma | death_date =| instrument = Guitar | genre = Country music|Country | occupation = Singing|Singer | years_active = 1966present (part time performances)| label =| associated_acts =| website = Calvin Grant Shofner (born April 7, 1932), known professionally as Cal Smith , is an United States|American country music|country musician , most famous for his 1974 in country music|1974 hit " Country Bumpkin (song)|Country Bumpkin ."
Career
Smith was born on April 7, 1932, in Gans, Oklahoma|Gans , Oklahoma , and was raised in Oakland, California . He began his music career performing at the Remember Me Cafe in San Francisco at the age of 15, but he was not financially successful at first. Throughout the 1950s, he was not able to continue his music career, so he worked at various other jobs, including truck driving and Bronc riding|bronco busting . He appeared on the California Hayride television show in the mid-1950s before serving two years in the United States military|military .
After his discharge, he began playing in a band in the San Francisco Bay Area . In 1961, country music legend Ernest Tubb heard the band play and, after an audition, hired Smith to play guitar for the Texas Troubadours . Thus, Smith is heard playing in most of Tubb's 1960s recordings. His first solo single was 'Tear Stained Pillow/Eleven Long Years on the local Plaid label. Smith's stage name began to catch on after he released his second solo single, "I'll Just Go Home," in 1966 for Kapp Records , and he first cracked the Billboard charts with his second single, "The Only Thing I Want."
Smith permanently parted ways with Tubb and the Texas Troubadours in 1969 in country music|1969 , and he released his first solo album, Drinking Champagne , in 1969. The album's title track had reached the Top 40 on the country charts the previous year.
In 1970, Smith signed with Decca Records , and his popularity quickly soared, starting off with his 1972 top 10 hit, "I've Found Someone of My Own." He began recording songs written by some of the biggest names in the industry; for instance, in March 1973, his rendition of Bill Anderson (country music)|Bill Anderson's " The Lord Knows I'm Drinking " became his first number-one country hit. When Decca became MCA Records in 1973, Cal enjoyed his biggest successes. In 1974, he recorded two of his greatest hits, " It's Time to Pay the Fiddler " and "Country Bumpkin," which received Song of the Year Awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association .
Later career
Smith continued to have success with MCA Records into the late 70's including the Top 20 singles "Between Lust And Watching TV" (1974), "She Talked A Lot About Texas" (1975), "I Just Came Home To Count The Memories" (1977), and "Come See About Me" (1977). After this he continued to have minor successes that included "The Rise And Fall Of The Roman Empire" in 1979.Citation needed|date=May 2007 Smith released his last album, Stories of Life by Cal Smith , in 1986 in country music|1986 on Step One Records , where he scored a minor hit that year with "King Lear".Citation needed|date=May 2007 ==Life todayWhen|date=March 2011 Smith and his wife, Darlene, live in the Branson, Missouri|Branson , Missouri area, where they pass a great deal of their time fishing.
A"The Lord Knows I'm Drinking" also peaked at #64 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100 .
Awards
1974 in country music|1974 & mdash; Academy of Country Music - Song of the Year
1974 in country music|1974 & mdash; Country Music Association - Song of the Year
1974 in country music|1974 & mdash; Country Music Association - Single of the Year
References
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/smith_cal/artist.jhtml Cal Smith at CMT.com
Persondata | NAME =Smith, Cal | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =April 7, 1932 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Cal Category:1932 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sequoyah County, Oklahoma Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American country guitarists Category:People from Branson, Missouri Category:Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees
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