“Spanky”
Earl Smith Jr.
Earl “Spanky” Smith Jr. was an American musician and DJ who was instrumental in the development of the wall house music genre. He was born on May 8, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up on the city’s South Side.
Bio
Biography
In the mid-1980s, Smith, along with fellow DJs Nathan “DJ Pierre” Jones and Herb J, formed the band Phuture, which would transition to avant-garde acid house.
The trio’s experience with the Roland TB-303 synthesizer led to the creation of the classic “Acid Tracks”, widely considered the first homemade acid recordIn the mid-1980s, Smith, along with fellow DJs Nathan “DJ Pierre” Jones and Herb J, formed the band Phuture, which would transition to avant-garde acid house.
The trio’s experience with the Roland TB-303 synthesizer led to the creation of the classic “Acid Tracks”, widely considered the first homemade acid record.
Smith’s contributions to Phuture’s subsequent releases, including the songs “Your Only Friend” and “The Creator”, helped cement the group’s status as one of the most creative and influential acts on the fledgling scene.
Despite his pivotal role in the development of Acid House, Smith’s time in the spotlight was relatively short. He left Phuture in 1989 to focus on his family and career outside of music, largely out of the public eye.
However, in the years since, Smith’s contributions to the development of Acid House have been recognized and praised by music fans and historians alike.
He has been interviewed in numerous documentaries about the history of dance music, and his work with Phuture continues to inspire a new generation of electronic musicians.
Smith died on September 16, 2020 at the age of 59. His legacy as a pioneer in the history of electronic dance music lives on, and his contributions to the development of acid house continue to be praised by fans and musicians around the world.
Smith’s contributions to Phuture’s subsequent releases, including the songs “Your Only Friend” and “The Creator”, helped cement the group’s status as one of the most creative and influential acts on the fledgling scene.
Despite his pivotal role in the development of Acid House, Smith’s time in the spotlight was relatively short. He left Phuture in 1989 to focus on his family and career outside of music, largely out of the public eye. However, in the years since, Smith’s contributions to the development of Acid House have been recognized and praised by music fans and historians alike.
He has been interviewed in numerous documentaries about the history of dance music, and his work with Phuture continues to inspire a new generation of electronic musicians.
Smith died on September 16, 2020 at the age of 59. His legacy as a pioneer in the history of electronic dance music lives on, and his contributions to the development of acid house continue to be praised by fans and musicians around the world.