Smith was born in Beckenham, England. He picked up the guitar when he was five years old, after watching his father playing an Atkins and Travis version of Down South Blues. He begged his father, a longtime Atkins admirer, to introduce him to the fingerpicking style.
He was also influenced by guitarist Big Jim Sullivan and briefly studied jazz guitar with former Tal Farlow student Shane Hill at Warlingham School, Surrey.
Smith soon became a child prodigy on the guitar. At the age of 11 he finally shared the stage with his idol, when Atkins invited Smith to play together with him at Her Majesty"s Theatre in London. There he founded the Hot Club of Nashville, a jam band with a varying lineup, including high-profile session players such as John Jorgenson, Pat Bergeson, Bryan Sutton and Stuart Duncan, combining the European and American traditions of Gypsy Jazz and Western Swing.
His repertoire includes a wide range of styles from country, bluegrass and folk to jazz, popular and classical music
His flawless technique, quickly switching between fingerpicking and flatpicking, not only earned him the admiration of his peers such as Tommy Emmanuel, Doyle Dykes, Muriel Anderson and Joscho Stephan, but also numerous awards. The National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame named him Thumbpicker of the Year in 2008 and inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
Smith plays a signature instrument made by luthier Kirk Sand from Laguna Beach, California. The Richard Smith Model is an acoustic-electric nylon-string guitar.
He also endorses steel-string models by Stonebridge Guitars.
He prefers German-built American Economic Review amplifiers for his guitars.
2001: National Finger Style Guitar Champion at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas 2008: Thumbpicker of the Year by the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky 2009: Inducted into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame Golden Thumbpick Award by the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists.
