Today we’d like to introduce you to “Mama Jan” Smith.
“Mama Jan”, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been a singer since I was a little girl. Started out in church choirs and school choruses, then picked up the guitar when I was about 10 years old. From there it was being a singer-songwriter and recording on my own until I started playing with and fronting my own rock band in high school and college. I never really planned on coaching other singers – I believe that was God’s great orchestration of honing my talents over a period of years so that I could be helpful to other artists in their pursuits of excellence.
Back in the 90s, an acquaintance of mine owned a rock guitar school in Atlanta and asked me to help one of his students who was struggling vocally. I agreed to help and discovered that I had a unique vernacular to communicate with singers from an artist’s perspective. Thirty-plus years later, I find myself running a state-of-the-art vocal coaching, production, and artist development facility with the largest roster of charting artists in the music industry today. I’ve been on stages and worked in studios my entire life so creating music is a way of life for me.
The “professional bio” reads like this: A nationally recognized singer/songwriter/musician, Jan Smith is also a Grammy-nominated producer, GA Music Hall of Fame inductee, and a multi-platinum certified vocal coach/vocal producer who has tended to some of the most distinctive voices in the business. Owner of Jan Smith Studios in Atlanta, a state-of-the-art vocal coaching, artist development, and production facility offering services nationwide to record companies, artists, producers and motion pictures.
It’s a very humbling thing to look back on the progression of how I got here, but the truth is, I’m just a working girl doing what I love.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If you’ve lived long enough, you come to realize that no road is all smooth. That said, sometimes it’s the bumps along the way that teach us the greatest lessons in faith, perseverance, strength, humility, and ultimately success. Have there been some struggles? Of course! There’ve been times when I thought I was gonna have to put my house on the market because I didn’t know if I would be able to afford to keep it, much less be able to pay my bills or feed my face! But in the midst of some of the most difficult times have come some of the greatest opportunities. You just have to keep your head above the waterline and be prepared for what comes next. The music business, like life, is ever-changing and if you can’t progress with either, you die.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a personal trainer for today’s vocal athletes. At Jan Smith Studios/Mama’s Music House, we are “known” for vocal coaching, but the truth is, we’re artist developers who hone the crafts of some of the best and brightest talents on the music landscape today. Our facility is jam-packed with a diverse staff who specialize in various genres, videography, recording and production, musical instrument and technology instruction, songwriting and performance coaching. And so, we are developers from the ground floor up, helping to grow artists for today’s music industry and instilling excellence as we go.
I guess I’m most proud of the business that God has grown through the work of my hands. I started out as a one-woman operation in something about the size of a broom closet, and we’ve grown into an internationally recognized hub for helping artists build more sustainable careers. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to say I’ve worked with the likes of Justin Bieber, Usher, Rob Thomas, The Band Perry, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, The Rock Johnson, Nicki Minaj, Mastodon, Sugarland, Drake, Ludacris, FLA/GA Line, Liam Neeson (yes, Liam Neeson), David Crowder, Terrence Howard, and so many others … it’s truly a fairy-tale job I have, and then again, I’m just a working girl.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I was born and raised in Atlanta, so I’ve seen a LOT of changes since I was a little girl. That said, I’m a Georgia girl through-and-through so I don’t really have anything bad to say about Atlanta. It does grieve my heart that there’s so much unrest and violence in the world in general, and certainly that trickles down to ATL as well. The way I see it is I’m changing the world as best as I can one voice at a time. So the way I treat each person who comes in for service at my studio matters. Everybody I come in contact with is also made in the image of God, and so the best I can do is respect them, whether I agree with them or not, and offer what help I can. I think if all of Atlanta (and the world) would practice that every day we might be able to shape a different world to live in.
Atlanta is a little-big town, I think. We’re down home but metropolitan. We offer southern hospitality but with an international flair. I love our skyline and having traveled to many other states and countries, I can still say there’s no place like home. I think we’re gonna see a lot more opportunities heading our way as the problems that are seemingly plaguing our friends to the west worsen. I just hope that with the influx of business/industry and people, Atlanta doesn’t lose its charm as a great southern city.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jansmith.com
- Instagram: @MamaJanMusic
- Facebook: MamaJan and JanSmithStudios
- Twitter: @MamaJanMusic
- Youtube: MamaJanMusic
Image Credits
Mil Cannon/Imagemil Creative Mama Jan Smith
