(The following interview appeared
in Two-Step Magazine in April 1994.)
Country Music Profile:
Barrett Reed Smith
By
Bob Andelman
If you ever wander past Brandon Paint & Body Inc., don't
be surprised to hear the owner singing along with the radio in
one of the auto bays.
Everybody sings along with the radio, you say? Maybe so, but
not everybody has a shot at singing on the radio. That's
the difference between Barrett Reed Smith - he plans to drop
"Smith" if he gets famous - and the rest of us amateurs.
A former air force pharmacist (Sgt. E-4) reared in Alaska,
Smith was smitten by country music as a young kid. His parents
never heard him until they took a riverboat cruise together in
Nashville. That day, Smith got up his courage and warbled with
the ship's band before 300 people. "It was my first exposure
to people and I kind of liked it," he says.
But that was almost 20 years ago; Smith, 42, is what they
call a "late bloomer." He's been toying with music
on the side for years, singing to the ladies at fashion shows
sponsored by Coyote's and getting on stage with his mentor Terry
Brown's band.
All that may be on the verge of changing for the married father
of two grown children. Smith recently won a Silver Wing Records
amateur talent contest, beating 20 other contenders in a sing-off
at the Rockin' Horse in Brandon. Singing Tracy Lawrence's "Runnin'
Behind," he took home $500, a trophy, and, most important,
an invitation to appear on two Nashville-based TV talent showcases,
"Rainey After Dark" and "New Country Express,"
hosted by David Still.
Smith aims to please the paying customer, whether on stage
or in body shop. "We've always prided ourselves on service
and quality at the shop," he says, "and I try to do
that when I sing, too."
Profile (c) 1994 by Bob Andelman. All
rights reserved.
©2003,
All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced without the
express written permission of the author.
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