GE Smith hid in plain sight all throughout his career.. He IS one of the greats but you will never hear that from him.. Hat's off Mr. Smith..

GE was the perfect fit for this role, he was indeed ‘a cool dude’😎

"Those were the real cats"

He was the reason I watched SNL when he left so did I GE Smith Bad Ass Guitar Man 👍🔥🎸🦅

I remember watching GE Smith on SNL when I was a kid and even then before I really knew much about music I thought he was a cool cat. Now that I've been a guitar player for more than 20 years, I have even more respect for the guy, his playing and the cool guitars he played back in the SNL days.

I work as a high school English teacher and I play guitar between passing periods. I always feel like the great GE Smith when jamming outside my classroom.

i was lucky enough to have seen GE and Tbone play in local bars back in the early 80's together- During the Hall and Oates years they had a little band that went out locally and played in these small bars- Not many knew who they were- they were called Domino- had great drummer and lady singer with them- these guys were hands down the best "Bar band" you ever saw. Imagine having three hours to sit as close as you wanted to hear GE play guitar and Tbone play guitar or bass all night long- man they were great times- GE was always friendly , and TBONE became a friend- nicest guys rip bone

My Dad LOVED when G.E. Smith popped up. As did I. The man clearly LOVED what he did, and he did it well. Everytime I see Mr. Smith, I think of my father glowing. Maybe one day I can go onstage and make him glow the same way.

These cats wer SO heavy! They made beautiful music, well played, with subtle complexity that people loved. We need this back in the world.

What I remembered most about G.E. on SNL is that when he played, he ALWAYS had a smile on his face!

3:43 - 3:57/ Dear God, I actually got to grow up during THIS era of SNL and watch those musical bumps when they were live! And to see the sheer joy the band got out of reminding audiences about their musical influences in those brief snippets. For those not up on pop culture of the 60's, the number being performed on this time stamp is the opening theme to THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.

G.E. was terrific on "SNL." He was there during some of the show's great years! Thanks for sharing!

I'm jealous of all the beautiful guitars GE got to play.

When he was gone it was the end of the house band. I think many times they were better than the musical guests.

Thanks for sharing this. This was by far the best TV band ever. 🎷and GE Smith were always total class. This music 🎶 has such a vibe it says Manhattan and NYC at night like nothing else. 😎👍

Loved seeing GE and Tbone together.

Met GE last night. A true gentleman and a supreme musician

Had a chance years ago to meet G.E. We played at blues festival on the same bill. Super nice guy!! We sat around on a beautiful day and smoked Henry Clay cigars and drank green iced tea. One of my fondest memories! Have always loved the way he keeps things pure and true. Respects the music and the history of it and the tools that made it. Understands it as true ART. God bless ya G.E.!

He could play anything. That great smile!

He is so under-rated. C'mon, GE, I live n the Philly area, I've played drums for over 50 years - gimme a yell and let's jam!

Met him an a hamptons restaurant . Perfect gentleman

During the commercial breaks, the TV audience is severely short changed. The studio audience gets the treat of the whole tune. I was always a bit jealous during the G.E. Smith years. Since then... Not so much.

I saw GE in Bob Dylan's band, summer of 1988. GE could play anything!

Great hair too!

I love G.E. Smith. He's who all the big names want because he's massively talented.

A lot of great things went down along with the last century especially the 90's. Great simpsons episodes, and great music and especially G.E. Smith on SNL great shame we can't go back to simpler times

man watching that brought back all those old memories of when SNL was good.

I miss watching GE Smith on SNL

Thumbs up if you only watch SNL for ge smith?

always had the great vintage gear.....and really knew rock, r and b and blues very deeply...great player....those were the days...god its been almost 30 years...geez, can't believe it.

I miss G. E. on SNL, please come back, if only for a cameo.

GE...l watched the show. Guitar in hand just to see u. I say this proudly! I sound alot like u. Thanks and God bless U.. Kookie Jeanne

GE Smith, the closest thing there ever was to a guitarist born with a telecaster in his hands.

Lots of nice guitars in these clips, but my favorite is the ‘52 Telecaster that his Mom bought him when he was 11 years old.

When i was a kid i thought g.e smitth was willem dafoe!.

Thanks for posting this. Love those guys

I associate SNL with the saxophone sound but this guy is a killer guitarplayer. Sax has a place in rock and roll but I don't care for many sax driven songs personally

GE Smith is a national treasure. I dont throw that phrase around much. But no one in the music world could have compiled such a resume of real world experience with so many different names. Through SNL, recording, and performing on the road, I bet he’s played alongside thousands of professional musicians and can probably tell you every little detail. Awesome dude! I feel blessed to have watched him so many Saturday nights. As the night turned to early morning and things were winding down, GE was always there playing some cool tune with a big smile. Rock on GE Smith!

always loved him. his facial expressions are as fun to watch as his guitar licks. i bet he's played with everybody at one point or other.

Amazing player, snappy dresser, great guitars and uber cool hair…..damn!

The last true blues/rock-inspired bandleader SNL ever had.

Love this confidence and MASTERY !!!

The master of making faces like he's wailing a difficult solo while playing a 12 bar blues. Lmao

years ago he played an outro to commercial break around xmas - Jingle Bell Rock on his tele. I leapt off the couch, grabbed my tele and instantly figured it out ( he was key of G). every xmas I enjoy playing it over and over. GE was kinda like Santa for me for 15 seconds in December in early 90s thanks for posting this

He loves his TELECASTERS AND He can make them sing. I wish I could've seen him do a jam session with Roy Buchanan.

Amazing player..the only reason I watched SNL during this period

The outro with the didgeridoo that begins at 1:47 is sick!

Niiiice...a little Freddy King in there

G.E. Smith... A true "GREAT"!!!!

Good to see T-Bone again.

Smith had a great collection of guitars.

"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" at :57. Where else are you going to hear that on network tv? Love it.

This video is a treasure trove of killer licks! Thanks for posting...Back to the woodshed!

This was from a series of shows from the 1992-1993 season. The rest of the band - Earl Gardner (one clip has Joe Shepley filling in), Steve Turre, Lenny Pickett, George Young, Lew Del Gatto, Paul Ossola, Leon Pendarvis, Cheryl Hardwick, and Shawn Pelton. Only Pickett, Pendarvis, Pelton and Turre are still in the band in 2022.

Love the tele

G.E Smith is the Best,Period...

The digeridoo clip starting around 1:50 is great. Missed that one back in the day. Always loved Smith's tone(s) and vibrato. His sound had a glow and a snap to it.

Woooweee, GE Smith always had a Great Time making Good Tunes seem like a Cake Walk in his sleep!

GE had the best guitars...I always liked looking at them...

True, that! I'd be smiling as well if I had that gig!

GE living the dream

What I like and iam a guitar player and collector is GE always is using a vintage guitar we get to see weekly.

ooh I loved that bit with T Bone Love !

I miss those days

Love the vintage guitars!

saw him play with Dylan in 90,he has been my favourite guitarist ever since,in fact would go as far as to say he's part of the reason Bob never faded into inerelivancy

Lucky audience. This was one of the best parts of the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jazz Feeling

Great to see those shots with tbone

I would have gone to see a show just to see the band. That entire orchestra was fantastic!

G E and T-Bone 👌

I liked how he used to let T-Bone play his guitars. Most pro musicians are usually very protective of their gear...

What do you thing is Googled more. GE Smith, or "The Blonde Guy with the Guitar"?

I used to cry like a flowery little girl pushed down in a mud puddle when SNL would give GE just 10 seconds of air time: forget the hosts, jokes...skits...musical guests: GE Smith jammin' for 1 hour would be suffice; perfectly. What a brilliant guitarist, composer, arranger....plus that impeccable guitar tone :)

10 seconds to make a memory G.E Smith an american original and stand up player of chords so many many chords....man to have that kind of muscle memory

Its not about the cats it’s about the music. The 60,70,80 had some very special music and there were guys that played and guys that didn’t. GE played it.

G.E. was another reason why I watch SNL.

I would want more of the SNL bumpers in which the band plays musical pieces in between commercials.

Watching him play at 4.58 with Stevie ray vahn was awesome he looked like he was loving it

More!

Thanks Vintage .. more like you on the tube

Those were some glory days for sure. That saxophone style is a signature of classic snl

That Feb 1993 guest lineup was damn good. Sir Mick one week, Sir Paul the next?

You can’t NOT watch G.E. Your eyes are drawn to the blond musician playing lead or backup with a smile on his face.

G.E. is one of the favorite guitarists. T-Bone Wolk & Charlie DeChant were also hidden in some of these clips; also Steve Turre 👍🏾

great band

4:16 What is hip. I love it, throwin' in a little Tower of Power.

There's still a piece they did that I can't find. GE starts it with about a secs piece and then the horns kick in, it used to give me goosebumps, can't remember who the hell the guest was for it though.

Good memories

Hex was the only reason I used to watch snl I always loved the great guitars and his sound

00:33, you can hear Don Pardo cough. Nice

Man i miss those days

Him jumping right into Hideaway was killer!!

@vintagekarmatattoos I remember that the first few weeks that Shawn Pelton first joined the SNL band, he was sporting a green jacket, but midway through that season, it was dropped in favor of a black jacket instead. He wasn't wearing a jacket in the final few episodes of the 20th season.

damn! I want to hear the rest of that 'What is Hip' song! Sucha tease!

That band was so damn good.

@backauf I remember that! I didn't play guitar very well then (much better now), but I managed to play the opening bars... Yeah, that jammed!

Damn, that just took me back to my teens!

......... back when SNL was great!

@backauf Dang, I just realized... G.E. was covering Hall & Oates there. That Jingle Bell Rock riff was Hall and Oates.

I am so broke. I ran out and bought all the exact same guitars as GE Smith.