Antoine L. Smith is an Emmy Award winner, originally from Gary, Indiana. His Broadway credits include the original cast of "MJ: The Musical", where he starred as Berry Gordy and Nick; "The Color Purple" (2015 Revival); "Carousel"; "Miss Saigon"; and "Memphis".
Smith also starred as Curly in the award winning all Black cast of "Oklahoma" at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where he went on to win the Henry Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical. Additionally, Smith is an accomplished Voice-Over actor. He has voiced the Nickelodeon animated series "Nella the Princess Knight" as King Dad, as well as several television and radio commercials for Squarespace, Pepsi, Lowe's, Smirnoff, North Carolina Lottery, Mylanta, Chili's, Chase, Silent Hill, and KFC, along with several video games.
On January 24, 2018, as part of the "Broadway at The Pierre" cabaret series in association with Broadway Sings for Pride, a concert was held at Two E Bar/Lounge — the sophisticated saloon located inside the New York City luxury hotel, The Pierre. The concert featured a performance by Smith, backed by pianist and musical director Chris Curcio.
Smith performed the song "Johnny B. Goode" during the concert, where Shefik served as Videographer. "Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. Released as a single, it peaked at number two on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart.
"Johnny B. Goode" is considered one of the most recognizable songs in the history of popular music. Credited as "the first Rock & Roll hit about Rock & Roll stardom", it has been recorded by many other artists and has received several honors and accolades, including being ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and included as one of the 27 songs on the Voyager Golden Record, a collection of music, images, and sounds designed to serve as a record of humanity.
The opening guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode" borrows from the opening single-note solo on Louis Jordan's "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" (1946), played by guitarist Carl Hogan.
Credits
- Videographer: Shefik
Last Updated: November 6, 2022
