MICHAEL PETER SMITH
September 7, 1941 - August 3, 2020


Rolling Stone once called Michael Smith "The greatest songwriter in the English language" for writing such songs as "The Dutchman”--popularized by Steve Goodman and dozens of others--"Move Over Mister Gauguin," "Spoon River”--inspired by the poems of Edgar Lee Masters--"Elvis Imitators", "Dead Egyptian Blues," "Last Day of Pompeii", and “Panther In Michigan,” among his many well-known and oft-recorded songs. He also wrote the music for the Steppenwolf Theatre's production of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, which won a Tony on Broadway for Best Play, and the autobiographical “Michael, Margaret, Pat and Kate”, winning four Jeff Awards (Chicago's equivalent of the Tony), including Best Original Music and Best Actor in a Revue. Smith recorded several albums for the Flying Fish and Wind River labels, and performed at dozens of major folk festivals and on such radio shows as NPR’s All Things Considered. And he won the 2009 International Hans Christian Andersen Prize for The Snow Queen, honoring artists who interpret Andersen and his works.

Michael died from colon cancer on August 3, 2020. In today’s GVFF, his frequent collaborators Anne Hills and Claudia Schmidt, plus a surprise guest, will each perform one of Michael Smith’s songs, in tribute to this brilliant and influential artist.



Visit:
michaelpetersmith.com