Joseph C. Smith

b. USA, d. poss. c.1964, USA. Little is known of Smith's origins. He played violin and came to prominence leading a dance band in the years immediately following World War I. He made many records, mainly for Victor Talking Machine Company, and also played prestigious venues including New York's Plaza Hotel and Montreal's Mount Royal Hotel. While in the latter city he broadcast on CKAC and made his last recordings there in 1925, having failed to adapt to the peppier style of his competitors. Around that same year he brought his band from Canada to London, England for an engagem...