Although Television's records never sold in large numbers, the band is widely considered one of the most influential groups to emerge from the mid-1970s New York punk and new wave explosion centered around CBGB, alongside Talking Heads, Blondie and the Ramones.
Smith joined in 1975, replacing Richard Hell during the band's most defining period.
He had started out playing with Angel and the Snake, the early group that evolved into Blondie.
After Television broke up in 1978, Smith remained active in New York music, playing on solo albums by bandmates Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and working with The Roches, Willie Nile, Peregrins and The Revelons. He later toured with The Fleshtones.
His bass lines helped anchor one of the bands that defined a generation of downtown sound — music that still echoes far beyond the neighborhood where it began.
Among the tributes...
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