St. Louis blues great Bennie Smith dies

ST. LOUIS -- Even on the day Bennie Smith died, the gig went on.

Smith, a guitarist and blues legend in St. Louis, died Sunday following a heart attack. He was 72.

Smith, Kim Massie and the Soulard Blues Band were to perform Sunday night at 609 lounge in University City. The performance went on without Smith. After a set, harmonica player Tom "Papa" Ray told the crowd that Smith had died earlier that evening.

He said Smith, lying in bed Saturday after a heart attack, wanted the show to go on without him.

"He was still conscious on Saturday. He informed his saxophonist to do the gig, and I was joking that Bennie didn't want to get a reputation as a no-show," Ray said this week.

Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year, and had a heart attack in 2004, the same year his guitars and amps were stolen in a burglary. Still, friends said he didn't let any of the real-life blues get him down.

"I spoke with him Thursday, and he was very upbeat in a lot of ways," said St. Louis Blues Society's John May. "He had been really elated."

Despite his ill health, Smith has been very active of late. His "The Bennie Smith All Star Session" live CD was released two weeks ago, and he performed at the Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis on Sept. 2, with Mayor Francis Slay proclaiming it Bennie Smith Day. Later that evening, he played at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups -- his last performance.

Big Muddy organizer Dawne Massey was glad she could showcase Smith.

"He was one of those older guys, and you'd wonder if they could still play. Then they get up there and suddenly they're 40 years younger," she said.

Smith was born in St. Louis, the seventh of 14 children, and started out playing the ukulele. Blind guitarist Ace Wallace helped him develop his technique. He played with many up-and-coming stars, such as Chuck Berry and Ike and Tina Turner.

Smith wasn't a huge recording act. But he contributed to countless sessions and played with Aretha Franklin, Little Milton, the Drifters, Albert King and Rufus Thomas.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com.