John R. Smith was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1955. His original intention was to become a Pathologist. At the same time, he was always drawn to Music, Art, and Literature. Truth is, he would have made a lousy doctor.

Instead, he took up guitar and eventually became an arranger for a Latin band. This led to a career in music that lasted over fifty years. (Oh, you don't look that old.) Most of that music is forgotten except for one song that still gets over five million streams a year. [See "I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz.]

Mr. Smith is married to the vocalist Valerie Day. They have a son, Malcolm, who is also an artist. They live somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.