Emma Smith

Though she did not become a big name in bluegrass music, during the '80s Emma Smith garnered a small but devoted following thanks to her interesting, perceptive songs and powerful mountain voice. Born Emma Lee Maggard in Hindman, Kentucky, she began playing guitar as a youth. She married in her late teens and set up housekeeping in Hazard, Kentucky, where she eventually debuted on a local television station on the Saturday Night Jamboree. She made her recording debut in 1972 with "Angel Mother; " written after her mother died, it became a local hit and she became a popular per...