⬇️ ROY SMECK ⬇️
(Leroy George Alfred "Roy" Smeck)
DISCOGRAPHY 1928-1992 (10CD)
BIOGRAPHY
Background
Smeck was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He started on the vaudeville circuit. His style was influenced by Eddie Lang, Ikey Robinson, banjoist Harry Reser, Johnny Marvin and steel guitarist Sol Hoʻopiʻi. Smeck could not sing well, so he developed novelty dances and trick playing to supplement his act.
Vaudeville
Smeck was one of only two vaudeville artists to play the octachord, an
8-string lap steel guitar. He was introduced to the instrument by Sam
Moore when he played on the bill with Moore and Davis in 1923.
Like so many of the performers during the era, he was a big fan of the
instruments created by the C.F. Martin & Company and used a variety
of their instruments. Smeck was unsuccessful in obtaining an endorsement
deal with Martin, who limited their support to a twenty percent discount
for all performers. As a result, he endorsed the Harmony and Gibson
guitars and Harmony ukuleles.[5] Smeck was also known for his work on
the Harmony company's Vita-Uke along with a number of other versions
sold with his signature across the headstock.
In addition to playing the ukulele with his teeth, he would play it
behind his back or even use a violin bow.
Radio
Smeck was an early radio performer, putting together acts for
appearances across the country. Almost all of them had his name in the
band title, including The Roy Smeck Trio, The Roy Smeck Quartet, Roy
Smeck and his Vita Trio, Roy Smeck's Novelty Orchestra and Roy Smeck and
His Music Men.
Notable appearances
On 15 April 1923, Stringed Harmony, a short film starring Smeck made in
the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, premiered at the Rivoli
Theater in New York City.
On 6 August 1926, Warner Brothers released Don Juan starring John
Barrymore, the first feature released in the Vitaphone sound-on-disc
system. On the program was a short film, His Pastimes, made in Vitaphone
and starring Smeck, which made him an instant celebrity.
Smeck appeared in the film Club House Party (1932) with singing star
Russ Columbo. He also appeared with Columbo in That Goes Double (1933),
which featured Smeck on a screen divided into four parts, simultaneously
playing steel guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, and six-string guitar.
Smeck played at Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential inaugural ball in
1933, George VI's coronation review in 1937, and toured globally. He
appeared on television on variety shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Steve
Allen, and Jack Paar. From 1943 to 1945, he headlined a USO show that
toured veteran hospitals in the United States in a show that featured
the Meri-Maids, starring Marjorie Lynn, a Chicago native, of National
Barn Dance fame.
Inventor and instructor
Smeck designed and endorsed the Vita-Uke and other stringed instruments
marketed by the Harmony Company of Chicago. He made over 500 recordings
for various companies, including Edison Records, Victor Talking Machine
Company, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Crown Records, RCA Records and
others. He also wrote instruction/method books and arrangements for the
instruments he played.
Later life and recognition
A documentary by Alan Edelstein and Peter Friedman, The Wizard of the
Strings (1985), was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary
and won an award at the Student Academy Awards.
Smeck died in New York City at age 94.
In 1998, he was inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame. His citation
read, in part, "The 'Wizard of the Strings' captured the hearts and
minds of audiences for more than six decades." He was posthumously
inducted into the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame in 2001.