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Chicago Reader review
Byther "Smitty" Smith is as powerful a blues poet as any working today, with musical chops to back it up--yet he remains relatively unknown. His album Housefire, on the Razor label (reissued in 1991 on Bullseye Blues), showcased him roaring out lyrics that seemed to emanate from realms of torment few others have mined and firing raw arpeggios through sustained phrases with a keening fierceness. Mississippi Kid, his new recording on Delmark, shows that he's lost none of his power. "Judge of Honor" is a desperate plea from a man determined to defend his manhood at all costs: "That man he stood right here, talkin' that long rap to me / Lord, that give me the right to break his jaw with a left and right." In "President's Daughter" the singer marries the young woman of the title, gets arrested for it, and finds himself lost in a Kafkaesque legal tangle. "Give Me My White Robe" is a harrowing minor-key number about a near-death experience. Through it all, Smitty's solos cut with an unerring directness. He delivers a refreshing blast of creative lyrics and straight-ahead musicianship in a genre increasingly populated by poseurs.

David Whiteis

All Music Bio
Artist Biography by Bill Dahl

Strictly judging from the lyrical sentiment of his recordings, it might be wise not to make Chicago guitarist Byther Smith angry. Smitty's uncompromising songs are filled with threats of violence and ominous menace (the way blues used to be before the age of political correctness), sometimes to the point where his words don't even rhyme. They don't have to, either -- you're transfixed by the sheer intensity of his music. Smitty came to Chicago during the mid-'50s after spending time toiling on an Arizona cattle ranch. He picked up guitar tips from J.B. Lenoir (his first cousin), Robert Jr. Lockwood, and Hubert Sumlin, then began playing in the clubs during the early '60s. Theresa's Lounge was his main haunt for five years as he backed Junior Wells; he also played with the likes of Big Mama Thornton, George "Harmonica" Smith, and Otis Rush.

HousefireA couple of acclaimed singles for C.J. (the two-part "Give Me My White Robe") and BeBe ("Money Tree"/"So Unhappy") spread his name among aficionados, as did a 1983 album for Grits, Tell Me How You Like It. The rest of the country then began to appreciate Smitty, thanks to a pair of extremely solid albums on Bullseye Blues: 1991's Housefire (first out on Grits back in 1985) and I'm a Mad Man two years later. With two sets on Delmark and a stepped-up touring itinerary, Smitty really hit his stride. He continued with strong performances and recordings during the new millennium, issuing two albums on Black & Tan, 2001’s Smitty’s Blues and 2004’s Throw Away the Book; returning to Delmark for 2008’s Blues on the Moon: Live at the Natural Rhythm Social Club; and issuing Got No Place to Go on Fedora, also in 2008.