Artist Spotlight Saxophonist & Vocalist
Bennie J. Smith Celebrating 50 Years Bennie J. Smith is a Danville-Lexington, KY native currently based in Louisville. He is the eldest of 4 born into the union of Bennie and Dolores Smith. I grew up in the West End housing projects of Old Charlotte Court and was raised simultaneously in Danville and Lexington. As an adolescent thru his pre-teen years, he listened to the radio and records of artists such as Jackson 5, Percy Sledge, The Beatles, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Paul Revere & The Raiders and many countless others. I started playing the flutophone in the 4th grade at Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Lexington before integration. After the separation and divorce of his parents, his mother moved the family to Danville and as a means to address his aggressions, he learned to play the alto saxophone in the beginning band at Edna L. Toliver Elementary School under the tutelage of Mr. William Gravely. I eventually played in the Bate Junior High School Band under Mr. Boyd. He also played little league football at the 6th Street Park.
68 68
APRIL2023 2023 APRIL
By the age of 14, the family relocated back to Lexington, and he began playing in the Winburn Junior High School Band under Miss O’Nan. He also resumed his interest in sports and was on the football team playing whatever position there was a slot for. He then started playing with neighborhood musicians Billy Boy McCowan, Skeets Buchannan, Willie Fain and Tilford Wallace. He played his first professional gig at The Pipeline inside a boxing ring and made his first $5.00. Smith would go on to continue his interests in sports and music. Although he never played in the high school band at Lafayette High School, at the urging of boyhood friend Tommy Walker, he finally settled on the position of defensive back in which he eventually became a starter and lettered his senior year. After being a participant in the Upward Bound program at Kentucky State University, his world was changed forever after witnessing the KSU MARCHING BAND in a Homecoming parade and halftime show at the game. I auditioned for the band right before graduation and earned a full music scholarship.
