 |
 Rick
Smith, Country Music record producer, music visionary, and
concert producer who brought Willie Nelson's recent Fourth
of July Picnic to the Fort Worth Stockyards, died Saturday
from complications of a heart attack. He was 47.
Born on Dec. 3, 1956, Rick is a graduate of Haltom High School in Haltom City, Texas, a nearby suburb of Fort Worth. In 1998, Rick collaborated with Billy Bob’s Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards to start a series of live recordings at the legendary and award winning honkytonk. Bringing in state of the art recording equipment, Rick made the Billy Bob’s stage a live studio that would capture the essense and feel of being in the front row. The first artist he selected to spearhead this endeavor was the relatively unknown singer / songwriter Pat Green, a rising figure in the “Texas Music” scene. The next night, Rick recorded country music legend and 1994 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Merle Haggard. From these two projects, a company and vision was born. Future live recordings included scores of popular and legendary Country artists such as John Conlee, Roy Clark, Gary Stewart, Johnny Lee Janie Fricke, Lynn Anderson, Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley, TG Sheppard and many others. Rick also was fundamental in bringing exposure to many of the up & coming Country & Alt-Country artists from Texas and Oklahoma. Cross Canadian Ragweed, Cooder Graw, Kevin Fowler, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Deryl Dodd, and Jack Ingram all recorded live albums for Rick and with each release, he helped spread the “Sound of Texas” to those all over the world. In 2001, Rick saw the integration of DVD and music as an opportunity to give the fan a front row view as well. The first DVD release was of the wildly popular Country Outlaw, David Allan Coe. This milestone for Rick and his company, Smith Music Group, helped pave the way for future CD and DVD recordings which featured 9 Time Grammy Award Winner Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, and American music icon Willie Nelson, the album of which has remained on Billboard's Hot Country 100 Chart for 13 weeks and counting. Rick was also a huge supporter of the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards in his hometown of Fort Worth. With full support from the Stockyards community, Rick came up with another great idea. Concerts at the North Forty, the adjacent 40 acre field that offered spectacular views of downtown Fort Worth as well as the close convenience of shopping, restaurants, and historical sites within the Stockyards. After a successful event featuring Hank Williams Jr. in 2003, Rick in 2004, brought legend Willie Nelson back home to Fort Worth and brought Willie Nelson’s Annual 4th of July Picnic to the Fort Worth Stockyards. The 31st annual event featured Willie Nelson and re-united Willie with longtime friend and fellow Texan Kris Kristofferson. Such legendary performers as Ray Price, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Merle Haggard, Leon Russell, David Allan Coe, Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Billy Joe Shaver came out for the event and played alongside such upcoming artists as the Los Lonely Boys, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jack Ingram and Jason Boland & the Stragglers. The event was a huge success and was one of Rick’s proudest accomplishments and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. "From the beginning, Rick and Willie had a great relationship, and I think that's because they're both guys who think outside of the box," Pam Minick of Billy Bob’s Texas said. Survivors include his son Ricky Smith Jr of Fort Worth, his parents Pete Smith and Carol Smith of Grapevine; brothers Roger Smith of Fort Worth and Randy Smith of Nashville. In lieu of flowers, the family has setup the Rick Smith "Spirit of Texas" Fund at the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and asks that all donations be sent to the address below. A viewing will be held all day Tuesday with the family accepting visitors Tuesday evening at Greenwood Memorial Park at 5:00pm inside the Greenwood Memorial Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held at 1st United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth on Wednesday, August 11th at 3:00pm. Following the services, a procession will travel to Greenwood Memorial Park for burial services. Greenwood Memoral
Park 1st United Methodist
Church Rick Smith "Spirit of
Texas" Memorial Fund Click here to share your stories of Rick with his Smith Music Group family. |