Biography
Willie Mae Ford Smith earned recognition as the foremost among the anointed singers, those performers who adhered to a spiritual way of living and directed their efforts toward the salvation of souls. As one of the era's most legendary gospel vocalists, she issued few recordings, so her towering stature derived almost wholly from electrifying stage appearances whose dramatic and physically expressive approach shaped numerous leading soloists who came afterward. She also originated the song and sermonette format, inserting an extended sermon before, during, or after a song.
Born in Rolling Fork, MS, in 1906 and raised in Memphis, Smith was one of 14 children whose father, a railroad brakeman, moved the family to St. Louis in 1918. Her mother started a restaurant where Smith worked full-time after leaving school in the eighth grade. Although reared in the devout Baptist tradition, she performed blues and reels in childhood, yet once she assembled the family quartet the Ford Sisters she devoted herself exclusively to gospel.
The Fords caused a stir at the National Baptist Convention in 1922 with their renditions of "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel" and "I'm in His Care." Following her sisters' marriages and departure from the group, Smith launched a solo career. A high soprano, she briefly considered classical music until Detroit's Madame Artelia Hutchins moved her so deeply at the 1926 Baptist Convention that she recommitted to gospel permanently. After marrying the operator of a general hauling business, Smith began touring to augment household earnings; aside from the renowned Sallie Martin, she was arguably the first gospel artist to tour without pause, holding musical revivals in numerous cities.
During her travels she encountered Thomas A. Dorsey, who in 1932 summoned her to Chicago to help establish the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. She later founded a St. Louis chapter and served for many years as head of the soloists' bureau. Her 1937 performance of her own composition "If You Just Keep Still" at the National Baptist Convention established a fresh benchmark for solo singing, while her arranging prowess—evident in radical reworkings of "Jesus Loves Me," "Throw Out the Lifeline," and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"—prompted a new generation of singers to add those pieces to their own programs. As an instructor she guided Brother Joe May, Myrtle Scott, Edna Gallmon Cooke, and Martha Bass.
In 1939 Smith joined the Church of God Apostolic, and her music immediately absorbed the rhythm and vitality of the sanctified tradition. She nevertheless delayed entering the studio until the close of the next decade, believing her protégé May's widespread success with her approach rendered recording unnecessary. Only a few of her recordings appeared during her lifetime. By the early '50s she had shifted her focus to evangelical work, though she remained an enduring source of inspiration until her death on February 2, 1994.
Born in Rolling Fork, MS, in 1906 and raised in Memphis, Smith was one of 14 children whose father, a railroad brakeman, moved the family to St. Louis in 1918. Her mother started a restaurant where Smith worked full-time after leaving school in the eighth grade. Although reared in the devout Baptist tradition, she performed blues and reels in childhood, yet once she assembled the family quartet the Ford Sisters she devoted herself exclusively to gospel.
The Fords caused a stir at the National Baptist Convention in 1922 with their renditions of "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel" and "I'm in His Care." Following her sisters' marriages and departure from the group, Smith launched a solo career. A high soprano, she briefly considered classical music until Detroit's Madame Artelia Hutchins moved her so deeply at the 1926 Baptist Convention that she recommitted to gospel permanently. After marrying the operator of a general hauling business, Smith began touring to augment household earnings; aside from the renowned Sallie Martin, she was arguably the first gospel artist to tour without pause, holding musical revivals in numerous cities.
During her travels she encountered Thomas A. Dorsey, who in 1932 summoned her to Chicago to help establish the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. She later founded a St. Louis chapter and served for many years as head of the soloists' bureau. Her 1937 performance of her own composition "If You Just Keep Still" at the National Baptist Convention established a fresh benchmark for solo singing, while her arranging prowess—evident in radical reworkings of "Jesus Loves Me," "Throw Out the Lifeline," and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"—prompted a new generation of singers to add those pieces to their own programs. As an instructor she guided Brother Joe May, Myrtle Scott, Edna Gallmon Cooke, and Martha Bass.
In 1939 Smith joined the Church of God Apostolic, and her music immediately absorbed the rhythm and vitality of the sanctified tradition. She nevertheless delayed entering the studio until the close of the next decade, believing her protégé May's widespread success with her approach rendered recording unnecessary. Only a few of her recordings appeared during her lifetime. By the early '50s she had shifted her focus to evangelical work, though she remained an enduring source of inspiration until her death on February 2, 1994.
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