Dr. Lonnie Smith, the lauded Hammond B3 organist who was named an NEA Jazz Master, has died at the age of 79, as NPRreports. Blue Note Records, the longtime label of Lonnie Smith, confirmed the news.
“We’re deeply saddened to announce that Hammond B3 organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith passed away today at 79 years old,” Blue Note Records wrote on Twitter. “Doc was one of the funkiest & most inventive organists to ever walk the earth & we were proud to bring this remarkable man’s joyous music to fans all over the world.”
Although he is most well-known for his Hammond B3 organ, he developed musical interests while playing brass instruments at school in the suburb of Buffalo in Fifties. His forte was singing, and he sang with the doo wop band the Supremes (which predated Motown).
In the Sixties, he became interested in forging a career path as a musician, but he hadn’t settled on an instrument. He was a fan of Blue Note organist Jimmy Smith, and around this time music store owner and accordionist Art Kubera gifted him a Hammond organ, and Smith’s fate was sealed.
He was able to master the instrument within a short time. He started backing various Midwest bands and George Benson invited George Benson to invite him to join his newly formed quartet in the mid-Sixties. Each of the four were soon signed to Columbia, and they each created their own albums.
They scored a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart when they performed on saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s title track to Alligator Boogaloo from 1967 via Blue Note.
Smith signed with the legendary label as a bandleader in 1968. He released five albums for the label, and was a prolific musician into the 1970s. Blue Note was his home for a time, and he worked with many artists, including Marvin Gaye as well as Etta Jam.
In 2016, he reconnected with Blue Note. Soon after he was named a NEA jazz master, he began to work with artists such the Roots and Norah Jones.
His final albums were 2018’s All in My Mind and 2021’s Don Was-produced Breathe, which featured several collaborations with Iggy Pop.