Brian Smith (Canadian musician)

Brian William Smith (born March 26, 1949) is a British–Canadian guitarist, known for being a founding member of the rock band Trooper.^[1]

Smith began performing on the guitar before he was fifteen years old. Some of his first gigs were playing with Don Geppert and Anne Attenborough, in a band which played Hawaiian music.^[2]

Smith has performed with Trooper along with Ra McGuire since 1975, when their first album was released, to the present day. He currently resides in Langley, BC.^[3]

At the 1999 SOCAN Awards, Smith and songwriting partner Ra McGuire received SOCAN Classic Awards for "We're Here for a Good Time" and "Santa Maria", presented for songs that have received over 100,000 documented radio plays.

Smith received a third SOCAN Classic Award in 2005, for "Oh, Pretty Lady."^[4]

Smith and Trooper continue to tour and perform across Canada. As part of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics festivities, Smith was featured when Trooper performed on February 21, 2010. Coverage of the event was broadcast in Canada and around the world on networks such as CTV and MuchMusic.^[5]

On November 19, 2012, Smith was presented with a SOCAN National Achievement Award, which is presented to artists who have had outstanding success, predominantly in the Canadian music industry, over the span of their career. He also received three SOCAN Classic Awards for "Raise A Little Hell", "General Hand Grenade", and "Janine", co-written with songwriting partner Ra McGuire.^[6][7]

Notable Instruments

Smith has a large collection of vintage guitars, including the following:

• Fender Stratocaster
• 1974 Gibson Les Paul, which Smith still plays at every Trooper show.^[8]
• A Gretsch Guitar, formerly owned and played by Randy Bachman of Bachman–Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who. This guitar was also used for the guitar riff at the end of the Trooper hit "Round Round We Go".^[9]
• A Bill Lewis handbuilt guitar which Smith played mostly when Trooper was known as Applejack.^[10]

References

External links

• Trooper official website