We had the good fortune of connecting with Billy Smiley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Billy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Making the music, the lyrics, and the melodies matter as I was an artist (WhiteHeart, The Union of Sinners and Saints, and The River Cryers) and to continue to produce and develop the artists I work with.

In a world that seems to have forgotten the secret sauce of great art, I still hold onto the fact that exceptional and passionate art will always find its home for the downtrodden, the weary, the lost, the happy, the melancholy, the energetic; those who want to discover music that connects with them in a meaningful way

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started out in a music form I was not familiar at all with; Southern Gospel Music with the Bill Gaither Trio.

But they taught me the road, about the importance of performance, and connecting with the audience, so that when my time came to be an artist I was much more prepared than what 4 years of schooling taught me, even though that was important as well in my journey.

I took those lessons and started a Rock Group called WhiteHeart in 1981 and loved the journey ever since, writing for other artists, and producing and developing new up and coming artists still today.

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?
Food always comes with great artistry, so in Nashville I wood host them in the back alleyways of performance venues, and then eat at Satay Thai on West End, Barbara’s in Franklin, and great Indian food in Cool Springs.History is always important, so I would take them to the Ryman, plus many other new spots showing up.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Credit always comes with the things that inspired me to want to be in Music. And that has all the artists from the 70’s who really had no set rules like today, and labels that also did the bidding of the artists creativeness, unlike today – So I really want to have a shoutout to Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Love Song, Honeytree, Joni Mitchell, The Doobie Brothers, Queen, Elton John, Toto, Bob Scaggs, Randy Mathews, 2nd Chapter of Acts, and Phil Keaggy….great artists from that time period

Website: https://musiccitycollective.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billysmileymusic

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billy-smiley-214621195

Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/billy.smiley.33

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theunionofsinnersandsaints

Other: https://www.facebook.com/therivercryers

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