Adolph Smith

Adolph Smith (May 16, 1926 – July 31, 2004) was an American rhythm and blues guitarist, singer, and composer, whose songs were recorded by many artists.

Early life Adolph Smith was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Hastings J. Smith and Rebecca Rachael Frank. Hastings was a stevedore on a freight wharf on the Mississippi River. He born in 1904 in Verrettville, Louisiana, a community founded as a freedmen's town by former enslaved African Americans. Adolph was the third of ten children He attended Grunewald School Of Music after World War II.

Performing and recording While at Grunewald in 1951 Adolph Smith met Chuck Carbo. Carbo and his brother Leonard "Chick" Carbo were members of the gospel quartet the Delta Southernaires. Smith played guitar with them for a time. After hearing the Southernaires sing gospel music Matassa suggested they come back and try some rhythm and blues songs. Chuck Carbo enlisted Adolph Smith, a songwriter as well as guitarist and singer, to write two songs. Renamed the Spiders, the group recorded Smith's "I Didn't Want To Do It" reaching #3 on the R&B charts and "You're The One" following at #8. He would write songs and rehearse the Spiders but was not a member and did not appear with them.

Adolph Smith was one of the founding members of the vocal group the Mellow-Drops, a group of friends from the Seventh Ward who first got together in 1952. They played clubs and bars around New Orleans, and were discovered by Imperial Records's Dave Bartholomew. Having released a record, the Mellow-Drops became the first black group make an appearance on Mel Leavitt's Morning Show on WDSU TV. They also began to play dates outside of New Orleans, including an appearance at a country club in Mobile, Aklabama.

In 1955, for unknown reasons, the group decided to change their name to the Monitors. The met Shirley and Lee, and backed them at a studio session produced by Eddie Mesner owner of Aladdin Records. That session prompted Aladdin to record four songs by the Monitors in 1956, but only the disc "Candy Coated Kisses b/w "Tonight's The Night" with Adolph Smith on lead tenor was released. The songs were written by Smith but credited to his sister Louella Hall. while waiting at Cosimo Matassa's studio for the rest of the group to arrive Smith, fellow Monitor Billy Tircuit, Issacher "Izzycoo" Gordon of the Spiders, and Art Neville were recruited to sing background vocals on Little Richard's recording of "The Girl Can't Help It". "Rock "N' Roll Fever" was mentioned as the Monitors were noted in The Louisiana Weekly as a "widely acclaimed quartet". Frustrated by their lack of success the Monitors disbanded in 1958. Three years later some former Monitors members including Adolph Smith came back together and renamed themselves The Señors. This group recorded two songs at Cosimo' studio for Sue Records, which left the tilde off the band's name, Adolph Smith also recorded with Chuck Cornish as The Two Brothers. At least three songs he wrote were rated in Hit Parader magazine's The Hit Parader Band Wagon of Top Tunes in 1961 and 1962, "For A Thrill", "Never Again", and "You're The One".

Among the performers who recorded Adolph Smith's songs were Freddie King, Hank Crawford, Amos Milburn, Lou Rawls, Sonny Rhodes, Junior Parker, Bobby Mitchell, Little Milton, the O'Jays and UB40.

Adolph Smith died July 31, 2004, in New Orleans, Louisiana.