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It was in the seventh and eighth grades at Delano School, in Delano, TN, where Smith would first be introduced to Gospel Music when his teacher and
principal, Johnny Coe, taught a music course from some old Church hymnbooks. Chris recalls, "In December of our 8th grade year and at the close of a school day, Mr. Coe had to leave the classroom to work bus
duty and left direct orders that we were not to be out of our seats nor were we to be talking.
Three other boys and myself, mischievous as we were, stood up and took one of the hymnbooks from the file cabinet and began to entertain the class by pretending we were a quartet. Much to our surprise, Mr. Coe not only walked in and caught us in the act of disobedience, but had been listening from outside in the hall for sometime. We thought we'd 'had it' for sure, but instead of punishing us as we expected, Mr. Coe made us an offer we couldn't believe."
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The 4-H club talent contest was coming up and Coe wanted the boys to compete in it with him playing the piano. They gladly accepted the
offer and met a couple of times to practice. They won first place in the local contest, went on to win first place in the regional contest, and for the next five years would travel and sing locally as The
Hymnals Quartet. About a year into their singing Mr. Coe, in an effort to help them improve their performance, took  them to Chattanooga to see a Professional Quartet program. "Not knowing that
such a thing existed, we had no idea of what to expect", Chris says. That night the featured group was The Inspirations from Bryson City, NC. Humbly, Smith admits, "At only 13 years old and never
having been many places, I had never seen anything like them in my life. Not only was I inspired outwardly, but inwardly as well! I knew that one day, not knowing
when or how, it would be necessary for me to travel and sing with that group in order for a part of God's will for my life to be fulfilled." |
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After high school, the other boys quickly lost interest in singing and the Hymnals disbanded, however, Smith's desire to sing became greater and
greater. He explains, "This was my calling and I had to find some way to honor it. I tried to study music in college but they didn't offer a degree in 'Southern Gospel Quartet Style Music'. I
found myself skipping class and sitting in my old truck in the parking lot where I would listen to Gospel Music on the radio." Smith soon withdrew from college, knocking around at several jobs including
concrete construction, route truck driver, and photographer. The best job he had was as a pressman at Choate Printing Company in Etowah, TN. The owner of the company, Gene Choate, was (and still is) a
supporter and promoter of gospel music. Choate prints many items including Inspirations sheet music.
"The fire to sing was still raging inside me. I did some solo singing with Johnny Coe playing piano but that just didn't seem to 'get it.' I
really missed the four-part harmony sound of a quartet", Smith remembers.
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It was at this time that Johnny Coe began to write gospel songs and needed someone to sing on the demo tapes, so Smith volunteered.  Chris explains the process: "Mr. Coe would write
the first song and have the music tracks put down then I would sing one voice part, the Lead, to demonstrate the general melody of the song. Since he was going to be pitching it to major
quartets in the industry, we thought it would be great if we had some other participants to sing the three remaining parts. Just out of curiosity as to how it might sound, he played back the tracks
of the music and Lead vocal while I sang along on the Tenor part. At first we laughed, then almost cried with joy, as his song seemed to 'come to life'. We
thought if we could do two parts, then why not try three? So, we recorded the Tenor, then the Baritone to produce a trio. Having gone that far we couldn't help but wonder what one more voice part might
do for the song. The question was, how was I going to reach the missing part… the low part… the 'BASS?' At the time, my voice hadn't fully changed and I still sounded like a kid when I would talk.
But, with the help of the Good Lord and the patience of the recording engineer, we finally added the Bass for a Full Quartet Sound. That was the start of my One-Man Quartet."
Smith delivered a special package to Martin Cook of The Inspirations which included a tape containing one of The One-Man Quartet songs,
a tape player, just to insure Martin would review it, a letter and some amateur photographs of himself. He hoped Cook would put these materials on file for future reference.
Chris recalls, "I continued to work at the print shop until Mr. Coe had time and inspiration to write and I had time to record enough
One-Man Quartet songs to begin doing local live performances." Smith had only performed a few times when the local radio stations began playing his songs and people started 'talking' about it. It
seemed as though The One-Man Quartet might do well. Even though he was singing again, Smith still had a constant unsettled feeling concerning The Inspirations, as though something was still
incomplete. After much struggling, his mother, whom he refers to as his best friend and greatest supporter, firmly spoke up!
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Still a kid, he thought he had worked very hard and tried to be faithful to his calling, yet it seemed to profit him nothing.
"Momma got my attention", he tells! "Her words were something like this... 'Son, don't you know that the Good Lord has been with you in this every step of the way and that He is not going to just leave you hanging? Trust Him for His will whatever it is!' I cried and Momma cried, too. No sooner had she finished speaking than the telephone rang. I  answered, and on the other end, after 10
long years, was Martin Cook. He asked me to come to Georgia the next night to audition. Momma's old car almost didn't make it to Georgia. In fact, we had to stop on top of a mountain and have it worked
on, but by the grace of God, we made it to the audition and I was later hired to sing the Baritone part for The Inspirations. In my four years with them, it was a pleasure to be a part of four of their major
recordings and two videos and it was especially an honor to sing and tell so many people about the Lord Jesus Christ." |
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Smith left The Inspirations in May 1991 and he and Amanda were wed in June of that year. Attempting to return to work took him on a very great and
long adventure. As an applicant with both the NC and TN Highway Patrols, he waited patiently working at several different jobs that ranged from janitor to photographer to truck driver to painter.
Constantly encouraged by folks to continue with his singing, whether with another group or on his own, Smith would always respond that he wanted
to 'try something besides singing.' But Chris admits, "the truth was, I had, and still have, such great respect for The Inspirations, that I had placed them on a very high level.
When I had to leave them, I thought that any further efforts to honor God through my singing would only be counted as 'falling back' and that I would be viewed as a 'has been'. But, after God had some very personal dealings with me, He made me realize that my way of thinking couldn't have been further from the truth."
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 After much praying and planning, Smith returned to Gospel Singing as "Chris Smith - The One-Man Quartet." He started his first singing dates and
began working on a full-time schedule. In March of 1996, Chris, Amanda, and their son Sam traveled to Bermuda to provide the special music for a weeklong missions conference. Just as the Lord
continued to bless Chris' ministry, He also blessed Chris and Amanda's family. In 1997, the Smith's had twin girls, Rachael and Hannah. They, along with Chris' mother, Mary, returned to Bermuda in March
of 2000. If God permits they hope to go back many more times.
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Available are Chris' three albums, "Moving To A Mansion," "Unworthy" and "Thank You For The Sacrifice." "Moving To A Mansion" features a very catchy song,"Where We Gonna Put the Piano?." It
serves to warn God's people to "be careful!" of how we handle matters of the local Church. "Unworthy" features a special song that demonstrates the old shaped note type singing (Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do), "The Old Time Singing School." His latest, "Thank You For The Sacrifice," delivers yet another message
of caution to God's Church, "The Church Of The Frigid-Air." All three recordings contain lively gospel songs that uplift the Lord Jesus Christ.
Plans are to send out several national radio singles from each project. To hear a sample of The One-Man Quartet, go to the Recordings page.
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The most important point that The One-Man Quartet stresses, through singing and testimony, is that there is Good News for everyone, regardless of conditions and circumstances, and that this Good News is found in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. "It's a great honor to travel and sing for Him," Smith states.
If you would like to become a part of The One-Man Quartet mailing list or receive information on how you may schedule Chris to sing in your
area, please refer to the Contact Us page.
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old The Inspirations he was going to move to Bryson City to make singing more convenient, but that was only part of the reason. It would also
make it easier to see the young lady he met while in Bryson City. Her name was Amanda. They fell in love, dated for about one year and decided to get married upon her graduation from high school.
Church Services. Chris also travels annually to The Great Western Quartet Convention in California, singing in Churches as he moves
across the Country. In 1996, his mother, Mary Smith, became the Quartet's Assistant Manager and began traveling with Chris full-time. Chris' 
wife, Amanda, came on board in 1998 as the Quartet's Booking Agent and Secretary. The
One-Man Quartet is presented by using sound tracks of three of Chris' voice parts prerecorded and by doing a fourth part live. Chris' ministry is always well received
wherever he goes. To find out when Chris will be in your area, check the