Helena-West Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas, United States
Died
16 September 2011 (aged 75)
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936, Helena, Arkansas - September 16, 2011, Chicago, Illinois) was a Grammy Award-winning American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and multi-award winning drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s. Born in Arkansas in 1936, Smith learned to play harmonica at age seventeen just after moving to Chicago, Illinois. Smith's influences included listening to 78s and to KFFA King Biscuit radio shows, some of which were broadcast from Helena's Miller Theater, where… read more
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936, Helena, Arkansas - September 16, 2011, Chicago, Illinois) was a Grammy Award-winning American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and multi-award winning drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginn… read more
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936, Helena, Arkansas - September 16, 2011, Chicago, Illinois) was a Grammy Award-winning American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and multi-award winning drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s. Born in Arkansas in 1936, Smith learned to play … read more