Michael Peter Smith (September 7, 1941 – August 3, 2020) was an American, Chicago-based singer-songwriter. Rolling Stone once called him "The greatest songwriter in the English language". Mark Guarino of Chicago Reader wrote, "He never became a household name the way John Prine and Steve Goodman did, but his lengthy discography is just as mighty." He sang and composed from the 1960s, and his rich and challenging songs have been recorded by more than 30 performers. He is best known for writing "The Dutchman", which was popularized by Goodman and also recorded by Brendan Grace, Suzy Bogguss, Celtic Thunder, Liam Clancy, Makem and Clancy, Norm Hacking, Anne Hills, Mara Levine and Si Khan, John McDermott, the New Kingston Trio, Gamble Rogers, Tom Russell, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert James Waller, Josh White Jr., and Bernard Wrigley. Smith was also known for his whimsical songs such as "Zippy", "Famous in France," and "Move Over Mister Gauguin." Biography Smith was born in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. He attended Catholic schools (Our Lady of the Valley and Our Lady of Sorrows), which would shape much of his writing. A notable example is his song "Sister Clarissa". Smith had three younger sisters and a brother and they were the basis for his autobiographical play, Michael, Margaret, Pat and Kate, originally presented at the Victory Gardens in Chicago. The play is Smith's story of his upbringing and family relationships surrounding his father's early death. While attending Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls, New Jersey, he discovered the guitar and rock-and-roll. His earliest musical influence was Elvis Presley, although Roy Rogers was a close second. According to Smith, the music "ruined my grades," however, his other love of English never suffered. An avid reader, Smith's command of the language has always shown in the literacy of his songs, and has inspired much of the acclaim he enjoyed. A Song Talk Magazine review commented that "[H]earing the songs of Michael Smith in this day and age is like reading an anthology of short stories by Hemingway after decades of only comic books." After high school, Smith's family moved to Florida. Two years later, he started college and his interest in folk music blossomed. He cited The Kingston Trio and Harry Belafonte as his earliest folk influences. He spent three years of the 1960s working at a Miami venue called The Flick, playing six nights