Calvin Grant Shofner, known professionally as Cal Smith, was born on April 7, 1932, in Gans, Oklahoma. He began his musical journey at a young age, starting as a guitarist at the Remember Me Cafe in San Francisco at just 15 years old. His breakthrough moment came when he was invited to perform on the television show California Hayride in Stockton in 1954. Smith's career took off in the 1960s after joining Ernest Tubb's Texas Troubadours as a guitarist from 1962 to 1968. His first solo album, "Drinking Champagne", was released in 1968. In 1971, Smith signed with Decca Records (later MCA Records) and achieved significant chart success with hits like "I've Found Someone of My Own" and "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking". His most famous song, "Country Bumpkin", reached Number 1 on the country charts in May 1974. This track earned him a Country Music Association Award for "Single of the Year." Smith continued to release albums, including It's Time to Pay the Fiddler and I Just Came Home to Count the Memories. His final album, Stories of Life by Cal Smith, was released in 1986. Smith passed away on October 10, 2013, at the age of 81 in Branson, Missouri.
