Stuff Smith
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song "If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, along with Stéphane Grappelli, Michel Warlop, Svend Asmussen, Frans Poptie, Ray Nance, Eddie South, and Joe Venuti, one of jazz music's preeminent violinists of the swing era. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Portsmouth (city in Ohio, United States), Died September 25, 1967 (Munich (capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1953
Roles Represented in DAHR: violin, leader, vocalist, composer, lyricist, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 49 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BS-99447 | 10-in. | 3/10/1936 | I'se a muggin' | Teagarden Boys ; Trumbauer Swing Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-99448 | 10-in. | 3/10/1936 | I'se a muggin' | Teagarden Boys ; Trumbauer Swing Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-99776 | 10-in. | 3/12/1936 | I'se a-muggin' | Mezz Mezzrow Swing Band ; Willie Smith | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal ensemble | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-99777 | 10-in. | 3/12/1936 | I'se a-muggin' | Mezz Mezzrow Swing Band ; Willie Smith | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal ensemble | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-017452 | 10-in. | 12/2/1937 | It's wonderful | Benny Goodman Orchestra ; Martha Tilton | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
| Victor | BS-017489 | 10-in. | 12/9/1937 | It's wonderful | Shep Fields ; Bobby Goday ; Rippling Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| Victor | BS-019621 | 10-in. | 2/3/1938 | It's wonderful | Jack Leonard ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| Victor | BS-057642 | 10-in. | 11/13/1940 | I met you then, I know you now | Una Mae Carlisle | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | songwriter | |
| Victor | D3MC-0485 | 12-in. | approximately 1934 | That's what the bird sang | Fats Waller | Male vocal solo, with piano and talk | composer | |
| Gennett | 14327 | 10-in. | 10/11/1928 | Louder and funnier | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, | instrumentalist, violin | |
| Gennett | 14328 | 10-in. | 10/11/1928 | Gilded kisses | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
| Gennett | 14518 | 10-in. | 12/5/1928 | Black and blue rhapsody | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
| Gennett | 14519 | 10-in. | 12/5/1928 | Nightmare | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
| Gennett | 14520 | 10-in. | 12/5/1928 | Adorable Dora | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
| Gennett | 16349 | 10-in. | 3/5/1930 | After you've gone | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, instrumentalist, violin | |
| Gennett | 16350 | 10-in. | 3/5/1930 | St. James Infirmary | Alphonse Trent Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, violin | |
| Decca | 62172 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | Twilight in Turkey | Onyx Club Boys | instrumentalist, violin, leader | ||
| Decca | 62173 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | Where is the sun ? | Onyx Club Boys | instrumentalist, violin, vocalist, leader | ||
| Decca | 62174 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | Upstairs | Onyx Club Boys | instrumentalist, violin, leader | ||
| Decca | 62175 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | Onyx Club spree | Onyx Club Boys | instrumentalist, violin, vocalist, leader | ||
| ARC | 18654 | 10-in. | 2/11/1936 | I'se a muggin' | Onyx Club Boys ; Stuff Smith | Jazz/dance band, with vocal | leader, vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| ARC | 18655 | 10-in. | 2/11/1936 | I'se a muggin' musical numbers game | Onyx Club Boys ; Stuff Smith | Jazz/dance band, with vocal | leader, vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| ARC | 18656 | 10-in. | 2/11/1936 | I hope Gabriel likes my music | Onyx Club Boys ; Stuff Smith | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| ARC | 18657 | 10-in. | 2/11/1936 | I'm putting all my eggs in one basket | Onyx Club Boys ; Stuff Smith | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| ARC | 18817 | 10-in. | 3/13/1936 | I don't want to make history (I just want to make love) | Onyx Club Boys ; Stuff Smith | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Smith, Stuff," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104695.
Smith, Stuff. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104695.
"Smith, Stuff." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Stuff Smith
Discogs: Stuff Smith
Allmusic: Stuff Smith
Grove: Stuff Smith
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Smith, Stuff - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84157889
Wikidata: Stuff Smith - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1397171
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/5119063
MusicBrainz: Stuff Smith - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/144d2fce-f7a3-4275-b710-40a385e19554
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/144922 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/144922
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