Transcript: George Espenlaub Show: Inspiring Gospel Pianist Bobby Smith Interview

Here comes George's Edge around the corner, but tell someone to tune in to the George Espinelob show on the Spreaker Network. We have standing room only here tonight, but I'll guarantee you we can scrooge some more people in. And I thank you for tuning in. I'm going to introduce our guest to you this evening, a man by the name of Bobby Smith out of Ohio, the great big Buckeye state of Ohio. a pianist, a songwriter, a singer, and a man who's going to tell us his story. So with no further ado, as Charlie always says, we're going to welcome Mr. Bobby Smith to the show. Bobby, welcome to the George Espinlob Show. Thank you. Appreciate it. You are a pianist, songwriter, singer, and truck driver. Am I right? Yeah. Yeah, I guess Elvis was a truck driver too. Yeah, that's quite a mixture. But you're not only a truck driver, you're one of those fellows that travels across the country, right? Right, yeah. I travel in all the states that you don't have to go across water on. Well, that's good. That's good. I'm glad you're not trying to take your truck across water. Anyhow tell us a little bit about yourself Well I been married now for 36 years I have two sons and a grandson I a pianist and a songwriter and that started when I was about probably 15 The ironic thing was that we always had a piano in our home. My oldest sister played piano quite proficiently, but I never liked it and always figured piano was for sissies. And 35, 40 years ago, well, it'd be longer than that, really. I've been married that long. But things were not at all like they are today. You have American Idol and talent shows and just music galore. But I had a daddy that I kind of, I don't want to use the word trick, but got him saved. I might add I'm a gospel singer and pianist also. but he was a drinking person and he really liked Jerry Lee Lewis. That was his idol. And when he would come home drinking, we had to hear Jerry Lee Lewis. And I got to where I didn't even like the piano. So that's kind of an ironic thing there in my life. Did he play a piano, Bobby? Pardon me? Did your dad play the piano? No, no, no. He didn't play the piano. He just practically worshipped Jerry Lee Lewis. But he was living his side of life, and our mother was a Christian. She took us kids to church, and so, you know, we had that unbalance in the family. But at any rate, one day a college gentleman from Akron, Ohio, came to our church, and he started playing that piano and had this rhythm that was the most beautiful rhythm I ever heard It was like Jerry Lee Lewis rhythm but it was anointed by the Holy Spirit And right there on my feet, I started making deals with God. And let's make a deal, right? Well, yeah. I mean, that was, you know, very serious years ago. I mean, even our church age has grown so different today than then. But I began praying, I'll do anything you want if you'll give me the gift to play the piano. I'll never play in nightclubs. I won't use it for rock and roll. And the deal, you know, that's how you do. And I was just a kid, boy kid. And I knew, George, I knew. I didn't hear no thunder, no lightning, but I knew when I prayed that prayer, I had the gift. And I immediately walked up there to that gentleman and I said, Will you show me what you're doing? He said, I can't read music, just watch. And, you know, from there, when he left, I just sat down and started matching sounds. And from there, it just started to grow. that's a miracle in itself. Yes, it is. And then where all that dream took me, I mean, I had such a desire that I got married when I was 19 years old. Actually, we were just kids, my wife and I. But when I was about 20, I told her, I said, now there's some things on a piano that I want to do, and I need to go see Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Swider, and Mickey Gilliam. Like as if you could go see them. Well, we had, I don't know what model the thing was, or 65, it was a little Opel station wagon and I packed everything up My wife graciously went along with it I want to and we had our first son who is now 34 and he was like a year old or something, and we headed down there to Nezabit, Mississippi, to Jerry Lee Lewis' house. I was going to have him show me how to play the piano. well we got there we got there about two or three in the morning and i'd lost a muscle already the car was falling apart and it was two in the morning we drove up the piano gates that he has down there and he actually he still lives there today and i knocked and i kept knocking and i saw the grand piano swimming pool and the nice big fancy cars. Of course, all that didn't entreat me. I wanted to play. I wanted to play so desperately, and I wanted to be the best George. I know I'm not, but that passion drove me. I kept knocking on the door, and a guy answered the door, and he had a gun, and he had a pistol down in his pants and I'm yelling, no, don't shoot. And here he said, what do you want? I'm here to have Jerry Lee Lutz show me how to do some fancy stuff on that panel. Yeah, you and everyone else. Eric E. Ended up being Red West. He was Elvis' bodyguard. And Elvis had passed away a couple years prior to me being there, and Red had went over to work, I guess, if you could say that, for Jerry Lee Lewis. Thank you.