Meet Grant Maloy Smith | Songwriter and Recording Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grant Maloy Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grant Maloy, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Because music has always meant so much to me, I wanted to share my music with others, with the hope that it would inspire at least some of them to do the same. If we all made more music the world would be a better place.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My unique angle is that I create albums that are about various American themes. The first one of these was DUST BOWL: AMERICAN STORIES back in 2017. This album was on the Billboard charts for 17 weeks, including 11 weeks in the top 10. It was even #1 on several charts like the Heatseekers, for example. I followed that up with APPALACHIA: AMERICAN STORIES, which received incredible critical acclaim. I made that one on both vinyl and CD, and created a boxed set with a book that I wrote and more. My latest one is MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES, where all the songs are set along the Mississippi River over the last few centuries and even before. This one will be released in Summer 2024. After that I plan to go westward with my next theme album.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Rhode Island now and our best known touristy place is the 17th century city of Newport, with its fabled mansions from the millionaires of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as great restaurants. I’d take them on a boat ride on the Newport harbor, and then we’d have some great seafood at one of Newport’s most famous eateries.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
For me songwriting is a singular task because I prefer to write alone. But for the rest of the entire process of being a musician you need other people. Other players, producers, engineers, publicists, managers, booking agents, and so many more. There are so many people that I am grateful for that it’s hard to list them all. But if I had to list just a few I would have to include Jeff Silverman, a great musician and songwriter in his own right, but a truly amazing arranger and producer. I have worked with him since 2016 on numerous albums and singles, and I have learned so much from him about putting together a good recording. And one of my first mentors was Phil Green, a killer guitar player and producer that I was lucky to work with in the 1980s. He hired me to do arrangements for the many bands that came into Normandy Sound Studio in Rhode Island. He paid me in studio time, which I was glad to get. That was some early and invaluable learning.

Website: https://www.grant-maloy-smith.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/grantmaloysmith

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-roots-singer-songwriter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/grantmaloysmith

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegrantmaloysmith/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/grantmaloysmith

Other: https://truthsocial.com/@grantmaloysmith

Image Credits
Certain photos by Christian de Rezendez