Chris “Hammer” Smith is a fixture on the Californian blues circuit.
As singer, guitarist and harp player, he’s clearly in the George “Harmonica” Smith tradition and also a contemporary of L.A. artists like Hollywood Fats and Rod Piazza.
His playing styles cover a wide stylistic range from late 50s jump blues to modern blues rock all played with a passion and steeped in real life.
He began playing harmonica in the late 1960s and studied with harp-master Rick Epping, and found a mentor in blues legend Sonny Terry.
The Hammer Smith Band, formed in the early 1980s, plays a high-energy brand of electric blues basted with a sauce conjured from the roots of Cajun, country, jazz and rock.
Chris and his L.A. based band have opened for such blues legends as Bonnie Raitt, Albert King, Big Joe Turner, B.B. King, and Johnny Winter.
Chris’ versatile, ingratiating blues harmonica style combines with a high energy, yet authentic electric blues with jazz and rock influences and creates a fresh, explosive sound that has wide ranging appeal.
There seems to be no end of harp players on the increasingly competitive blues circuit, but few anywhere can match Chris’ world-class chops.
Chris has recorded with Paul McCartney, Sammy Hagar, Smokey Robinson, Dolly Parton, Julio Iglesias, John Tesh, and Michael Jackson, and played on soundtracks for some of the biggest commercials and television shows ever aired.
