Willie "The Lion" Smith
William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith (23 November 1893 – 18 April 1973), a.k.a. "The Lion", was an American jazz pianist and one of the masters of the stride style, usually grouped with James P. Johnson and Thomas "Fats" Waller as the three greatest practitioners of the genre from its Golden Age, c. 1920–1943.
Read more about Willie "The Lion" Smith: Early Life, Music Career, Personal Life, Legacy, Recordings
Famous quotes containing the words lion and/or smith:
“The lion cares less about being king of the beasts than about finding his dinner.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Not ringed but rare, not gilled but polyp-like, having sprung up
overnight—
These mushrooms of the gods, resembling human organs uprooted,
rooted only on the air,”
—William Jay Smith (b. 1918)