At the age of 77, the American musician Fred Smith, the bass guitarist of Television and an original member of Blondie, died. TASR informs about it based on Saturday’s report of the online magazine NME.
Smith began his career in 1974 as the original bassist for Angel and the Snake, which later changed its name to Blondie. The following year he left the band and joined the rock band Television.
He remained with it as a key member until its breakup in 1978, playing on the studio albums Marquee Moon (1977) and Adventure (1978). After the group broke up, Smith made guest appearances on solo albums by bandmates Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, as well as on recordings by other artists including The Roches, Willie Nile, Peregrins, The Revelons and The Fleshtones.
Smith participated in the Television reunion in the early 1990s, which coincided with the release of their third and final studio album, Television (1992). He subsequently performed with the formation in the years 2001-2023.
“If you like melodic bass lines and counterpoint, you can learn from Fred, who did it very easily. He was natural, never flashy, always substantial and always serving the song in a way that only the greatest musicians can,Jimmy Rip, Smith’s Television colleague, wrote in a statement.
