Little Smokey Smothers born 2 January 1939

Little Smokey Smothers (January 2, 1939 – November 20, 2010) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and played with other Chicago blues musicians in the 1960s, then left music for most of the 1970s. He returned to music in the late 1970s and continued performing until his death in 2010. His elder brother was the bluesman Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers (died 1993), with whom he was sometimes confused. 

Albert Abraham "Abe" Smothers was born in Tchula, Mississippi, learned to play the guitar at the age of 15, and relocated to Chicago two years later. He soon appeared on stage, playing with Arthur “Big Boy” Spires, Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Lazy Bill Lucas. In 1958 he joined up with Howlin' Wolf, and he accompanied Wolf in a recording session for Chess Records the following year. Tracks Smothers contributed to include "I've Been Abused", "Howlin' for My Darling". and "Mr. Airplane Man". He also sat in with Muddy Waters' band at a time when, as he recalled, the rivalry between Waters and Wolf was at its peak. "Someone would always tell Wolf [that Smothers had been playing with Waters], and he'd say, 'I heard you been hangin' with them Muddy Waters boys – they ain't nothin' but drunks ! I don't want my guys hanging with those guys.'" 

In 1961 he founded Little Smokey Smothers and the Pipeplayers. They gigged around Chicago at the Blue Flame, the Playhouse and Pepper’s Lounge. The band covered, in Smothers’ words, “nearly everything on the jukebox,” and they would often play behind big stars like Ben E. King when they performed at the famed Regal Theatre. It was right around this time that Smothers met Elvin Bishop. The two became close friends, with Elvin often hanging out at Smothers’ apartment, playing guitar together, many times performing impromptu shows for the neighbours or anyone who would listen. Smothers befriended Paul Butterfield and got the young harp player his first gig a short time before Paul and Elvin formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. 

Throughout the 1960s Smothers appeared with Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Earl Hooker, and Junior Wells. Musical opportunities dried up in the 1970s, and Smothers worked in construction. After a break of several years, he recorded again in 1979, on Mojo Buford's album Chicago Blues Summit. In the 1980s he was with the Legendary Blues Band and contributed to their 1989 album Woke Up with the Blues. 

                  Here's "Little Red Rooster" from above album.

                              

In 1993, Bishop was a guest artist on Smothers's first solo album, Bossman! The Chicago Blues of Little Smokey Smothers, released by the Dutch label Black Magic. Smothers's cousin Lee "Shot" Williams also played on the album. Bishop and Smothers performed at the 1993 Chicago Blues Festival. Smothers had open-heart surgery in 1995. The following year he issued Second Time Around. He performed at the 1999 San Diego Blues Festival and at a party for Mick Jagger's 55th birthday. 

He was joined on stage by Keith Richards and Ron Wood for a highly publicized blues jam, with coverage appearing everywhere from Rolling Stone to Pollstar to Living Blues, Blues Access and Blues Revue. He once again hooked up with his friend Elvin Bishop in January 2000 for three sold-out live shows in San Francisco resulting in his first domestic release, That’s My Partner!, on Alligator Records. With his star rising even higher, he played on the main stage at the 2000 Chicago Blues Festival in front of a crowd of 150,000 people. Late in his career, Little Smokey Smothers began to receive the recognition he’d been due for over fifty years. He appeared in Martin Scorsese's 2003 television series The Blues, which contained excerpts from his live show. In 2006 Smothers and Bishop played at the Ground Zero club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. 

Smothers had health problems in his later years. His legs were amputated as a result of diabetes. In 2009, Bishop compiled the benefit album Chicago Blues Buddies, incorporating recordings he made with Smothers dating back to 1992. Proceeds from the album helped to pay for Smothers's medical expenses. 

On November 20, 2010, after a stay in a Chicago hospital, Smothers died of natural causes. He was 71 years old.

(Edited from Wikipedia, The Guardian & Alligator Records)