“Country Bumpkin” singer Cal Smith died Thursday (10/10) in Branson, MO at age 81. Born in Gans, OK April 7, 1932, Smith worked as a on-air personality for KEEN/San Jose before joining Earnest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours on rhythm guitar in 1962. He signed with Kapp Records after leaving Tubb’s band in 1966. Among his most notable recordings are “It’s Time To Pay The Fiddler,” which earned him CMA Single Of The Year in 1974, and Bill Anderson’s “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking.” No details on the cause of death or funeral arrangements have been released.

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