Tab Smith - Definition and Overview

Talmadge (Tab) Smith (1909–1971) was an American swing and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist.

In the 1930s and 1940s he spent several years in the bands of Lucky Millinder and Count Basie, as well as spending long periods freelancing both as a player and as an arranger. After the Second World War he led his own groups, which concentrated on rhythm and blues as jazz turned from swing to bop. His biggest R & B hit was "Because of You," which reached number 25 on the R & B charts in 1951.

Smith retired from the music business in the early 1960s and turned to selling real estate.