Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Film & TV
New York City, New York, USA
His distinctive "whispering" vocal delivery, for which he became famous, was caused when he fell victim to a poison gas attack during World War I. His voice never fully recovered and, unable to sing at full volume, he instead learned to make the best use of early microphone technology to record his soft vocal style.
Known for
- Cheer Up and Smile — Himself1930
- The Big Party — Billy Greer1930
- Happy Days — Minstrel Show Performer1929
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1898-05-31
- Active to
- 1950-05-13
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 9,628
- Total plays
- 32,891
Tags
Whispering Jack Smith, born Jacob Schmidt, was a popular singer of the 20's and 30's. While he didn't actually whisper, he did sing softly and quietly, very close to his microphone, and often dropped into plain speech. This created an intimate effect that separated him from other singers of the time. Or did so, that is, up until he began to be widely imitated. Although it is true he inhaled some poison gas in World War I, this was not, as is sometimes stated, the reason for his vocal style.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Jack
- Family name
- Smith
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- New York City
- Occupation
- pianist
- Instrument
- voice
- Voice type
- baritone
Show 6 more facts
- date of death
- 1950-05-13
- date of birth
- 1898-05-31
- cause of death
- myocardial infarction
- manner of death
- natural causes
- Commons category
- "Whispering" Jack Smith (musician)
- nickname
- Whispering
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0