Emma Smith

Though she did not become a big name in bluegrass music, during the '80s Emma Smith garnered a small but devoted following thanks to her interesting, perceptive songs and powerful mountain voice. Born Emma Lee Maggard in Hindman, Kentucky, she began playing guitar as a youth. She married in her late teens and set up housekeeping in Hazard, Kentucky, where she eventually debuted on a local television station on the Saturday Night Jamboree. She made her recording debut in 1972 with "Angel Mother; " written after her mother died, it became a local hit and she became a popular performer in area clubs and on televison shows. In 1981, Smith moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, and recorded ten songs with her friend <a href="spotify:artist:05c6W2NfXx6jxO28OGfPRA">Larry Sparks</a>. She wrote many of these songs, and one of them, "Don't Neglect the Rose," became one of <a href="spotify:artist:7pwjGKaqnfkvS7eQbHaqyH">Sparks'</a> biggest hits. In 1982 she released the album Hazard; her next was a gospel recording, Ship from King's Harbor Shore. Smith frequently played the festival circuit and appeared with such noted musicians as <a href="spotify:artist:2hdWa1ITLNBBtU5CM0m2Jg">Kenny Baker</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1ME0F6kcxVEKn3lAO55JRW">Josh Graves</a>. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi