Lavay Smith, vocalist and bandleader of the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, grew up in Southern California and the Phillipines. She has become an internationally recognized Diva of Jazz and Blues, with a singing style influenced by Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith, Little Esther Phillips and other legendary greats.

This sultry chanteuse evokes a sensuous era of Jazz queens and sexy pinups and adds a modern, feminist twist. No wonder Los Angeles Magazine chose her as one of the sexiest people around! Lavay first performed in 1989 and immediately began attracting crowds thanks to her big, bluesy voice, exciting stage personality, and glamorous approach.

According to Fox TV, the band has become “a San Francisco Landmark”, winning numerous awards including a “Wammie” and a “Bammie”. In 1998, the reader’s of San Francisco’s two major newspapers, the Chronicle and the Examiner, voted Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers the “Best Band” in the annual readers poll.