Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Willie Smith Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0382
Creators:
Smith, Willie, 1910-1967 (musician)
Dates:
1945-1987
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. One item in
German
.
Physical Description:
0.25 Cubic feet
2 boxes
Repository:
Collection documents Willie Smith's career as a musician and arranger between 1945 and 1958.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Willia Smith Collection consits of correspondence, event programs, a periodical entitled Musikkunde in beispielen, thirty-siz black and white photograph, and nine music arrangements documenting Smith's career as a musician and arranger between 1945 and 1958.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, 1945-1947
Series 2: Photographs, 1938-1958
Series 3: Ephemera, 1945-1987

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Willie Smith, aleading alto saxophonist and arranger of the swing period, was born in Charkeston, South Carolina on November 25, 1910 and died in Los Angeles on March 7, 1967. He attended Nashville Tennessee's Fisk University during the 1920s and played with the Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra between 1929 and 1942. After a brief period performing with Charlie Spivak's band between 1942 and 1943, Smith began his tenure with the Harry James Orchestra in 1944. Hew remained with the Harry James Orchestra until 1964 with brief interruptions between 1951 and 1953 performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Jazz at the Philharmonic, and leading several of his own small ensembles in Los Angeles. In addition to Smith's reputation as a section leader and soloist, he is best known for his arrangmenets of Sophisticated Lady and Rose Rooom for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Fischella Smith, August 14, 1990.
Processing Information
Processed by Archives Center staff.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Willie Smith Collection, 1945-1987, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sheet music -- Manuscripts -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Programs -- 1940-1990 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jazz musicians -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 1940-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jazz Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lunceford, Jimmie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harry James Orchestra Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
James, Harry, 1916- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu