Cal Smith

Calvin Grant Shofner (April 7, 1932 – October 10, 2013), as the youngest of three sons of James "Otto" and Ethel (Quinn) Shofner. During the Great Depression, the Smiths headed west and settled in Oakland, California, Smith 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 bronco busting. He appeared on the California Hayride television show in the mid-1950s before serving two years in the 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 his Texas Troubadours; 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 chart with his second single, "The Only Thing I Want". The album's title track had reached the top 40 on the country chart the previous year, and was later a top-10 hit for George Strait in 1990.

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".

Smith and his wife, Darlene, lived in the Branson, Missouri, area. Smith died in Branson on October 10, 2013. He was survived by Darlene, his son Calvin, five grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Jimmie Todd.

Discography Albums Year Album Chart Positions Label US Country US AUS 1966 All the World Is Lonely Now 40 — — Kapp 1967 Goin' to Cal's Place 31 — — 1968 Travelin' Man 34 — — At Home with Cal — — — Drinking Champagne 33 — — 1969 Cal Smith Sings 34 170 — 1970 Country Hit Parade — — — 1971 The Best of Cal Smith 41 — — 1972 I've Found Someone of My Own 5 191 — Decca 1973 Cal Smith 20 — — MCA 1974 Country Bumpkin 4 — 50 1975 It's Time to Pay the Fiddler 8 — — My Kind of Country 17 — — 1976 Jason's Farm 16 — — 1977 I Just Came Home to Count the Memories 38 — — 1986 Stories of Life — — — Step One 1998 Cal Smith — — — First Generation

Singles Year Single Chart Positions Album US Country CAN Country AUS 1966 "Silver Dew On the Bluegrass Tonight" — — — single only 1967 "The Only Thing I Want" 58 — — All the World Is Lonely Now "I'll Never Be Lonesome with You" 61 — — Goin' to Cal's Place "I'll Sail My Ship Alone" — — — 1968 "Destination Atlanta G.A." 60 — — Travelin' Man "Jacksonville" 58 — — At Home with Cal "Drinking Champagne" 35 — — Drinking Champagne 1969 "Empty Arms" — — — "It Takes All Night Long" 51 — — Cal Smith Sings "You Can't Housebreak a Tomcat" 55 — — The Best of Cal Smith 1970 "Heaven Is Just a Touch Away" 47 — — "The Difference Between Going and Really Gone" 70 — — 1971 "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome" 58 41 — I've Found Someone of My Own "Free Streets" — — — singles only "Save My Wife" — — — 1972 "I've Found Someone of My Own" 4 13 — I've Found Someone of My Own "For My Baby" 58 — — 1973 "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking"A 1 2 — "I Can Feel the Leavin' Coming On" 25 39 — Cal Smith "I've Loved You All Over the World" flip — — "Bleep You" 63 — — "An Hour and a Six-Pack" flip 95 — 1974 "Country Bumpkin" 1 2 23 Country Bumpkin "Between Lust and Watching TV" 11 15 62 1975 "It's Time to Pay the Fiddler" 1 1 — It's Time to Pay the Fiddler "She Talked a Lot About Texas" 13 5 — "Jason's Farm" 12 7 — Jason's Farm 1976 "Thunderstorms" 33 22 — "MacArthur's Hand" 43 47 — "Woman Don't Try to Sing My Song" 38 — — I Just Came Home to Count the Memories 1977 "I Just Came Home to Count the Memories" 15 10 — "Come See About Me" 23 47 — "Helen" 53 — — singles only 1978 "Throwin' Memories On the Fire" 51 — — "I'm Just a Farmer" 73 — — "Bits and Pieces of Life" 68 — — 1979 "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" 71 — — "One Little Skinny Rib" 91 42 — "The Room at the Top of the Stairs" 92 — — 1982 "If I Ever Need a Lady" (w/ Billy Parker) 53 — — "Too Many Irons in the Fire" (w/ Billy Parker) 68 — — 1986 "I Know It's Not Over" — — — Stories of Life "King Lear" 75 — — 1998 "The Arizona Whiz" — — — Cal Smith A"The Lord Knows I'm Drinking" also peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Awards and nominations Music City News Country Awards 1968 Cal Smith Most Promising Male Artist Academy of Country Music Awards

Single Record of the Year Song of the Year Cal Smith Top Male Vocalist of the Year Country Bumpkin Album of the Year Country Music Association Awards 1973 "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking"

"Country Bumpkin" Country Bumpkin Album of the Year Cal Smith Male Vocalist of the Year