According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, "blessed with a masterful blues voice, Smith has retained an interest in roots music right throughout his career." Smith's early influences were, "Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Charlie Musselwhite."
Ian McFarlane, a musicologist from Australia, asserts that "Smith is endowed with an outstanding blues voice and has always retained a connection to the roots of music." Smith's primary musical inspirations were "Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Charlie Musselwhite."