Jim Smoak: At The Depot

Jim Smoak: At The Depot 

Recorded live at The Depot Railroad Museum in Salem, Indiana, April 25, 2022. 

Jim Smoak grew up surrounded by music and learned to play from his mother at an early age. When he was twelve, he purchased his first banjo from Sears, Roebuck & Co. after winning a 4-H prize in South Carolina. Shortly after his high school graduation, Jim hit the road with his banjo. He spent much of his early career performing live shows both in person and on television, working with bluegrass greats Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Hylo Brown. Jim stopped touring in the 1970s when he met his wife, and the couple settled in her hometown of Pekin, IN. For more than fifty years, he has taught banjo and a variety of other instruments to children and adults and has twice served as a master artist in the Traditional Arts Indiana Apprenticeship Program. In 2008, Jim was recognized as one of the “Pioneers of Bluegrass” by the International Bluegrass Music Museum, and in 2022 he was named an Indiana Heritage Fellow. Now in his eighties, Jim Smoak continues to play music throughout Kentuckiana. 

 Personnel: Jim Smoak, Banjo and voice