Two wings and an ode from Elton John

If I told you that Elton John once mentioned Shreveport’s Cedar Grove neighborhood in a song, would you believe me? If you were smart, you would – because it’s true.

Elton John mentions Cedar Grove in one of his songs, thanks to one of Shreveport’s most fascinating but largely forgotten musical figures – Elder Utah Smith.

Utah Smith was born in the community of Cedar Grove in 1906 and spent his early years in the Shreveport area. He eventually became a preacher in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination.

Elder Utah Smith was known for more than just preaching. He was, among other things, a musical pioneer. Smith often led his worship services playing an electric Gibson guitar.

Smith’s other claim to fame – besides his Gibson playing – was his habit of wearing two feathered angel wings while performing. Smith was prone to theatrics and even used a system of ropes and pulleys to “fly” through his church temple in New Orleans. His angelic antics became part of his lore, and Smith capitalized on that lore further by recording several versions of a gospel song about “two wings” that would ultimately become his theme song.

Smith was a larger-than-life figure. He took his gospel show on the road in the form of a traveling tent revival. The revival often involved humor – such as preaching a funeral for the Devil. In addition to his singing, guitar playing and wing-wearing, Smith also claimed to be a healer and once famously preached from inside a casket.

Through his travels and theatrics, Smith gained fame as an evangelist. He was even mentioned in The New York Times. Smith later made a permanent home in New Orleans. He did not, however, forget his hometown of Cedar Grove (which was annexed by Shreveport in 1927). Shreveport music historian Chris “Encyclopedia” Brown wrote the following:

“Smith’s return visits to his old Northwest Louisiana hometown are documented by one especially useful resource, The Shreveport Sun weekly newspaper. During the summer of 1948, he organized a month-long ‘Big Tent Revival Meeting’ at the corner of Milam and Elder streets (near the current site of Booker T. Washington High School). In February 1950, Smith spent two weeks conducting services for Rev. L. H. White’s COGIC congregation on 80th Street in the Cedar Grove neighborhood. Then, during the fall of 1950, Smith conducted a month-long ‘Homecoming Revival”’at the COGIC located at the corner of Looney and Sycamore streets. Ever the media savvy minister, each of these visits included regular broadcasts of the services on radio station KENT.”

After a lifetime of preaching, Elder Utah Smith passed away on Jan. 24, 1965, in New Orleans. His body was returned to his childhood home and laid to rest in Carver Memorial Cemetery in south Shreveport. Notably, he was buried in an unmarked grave.

So, what about Elton John? On his 2016 “Wonderful Crazy Night” album, John released a song called “I’ve Got 2 Wings,” which recounts the story of Utah Smith’s life. The first verse mentions Cedar Grove:

“I am the Elder Utah Smith/I was born in Cedar Grove

That’s in Louisiana / on a dirt-poor stretch of road.”

Elton John’s long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin is known for writing about obscure and forgotten figuxres, and Utah Smith could not be more obscure or forgotten. In a 2015 interview in Rolling Stone, Taupin explained what inspired him to write lyrics about Utah Smith:

“I have this terrible tendency in my work to resurrect the neglected. It’s great ammunition for songs. I mean, a Louisiana guitar-playing evangelist who wears a pair of wings? What’s not to love about that?”

But Utah Smith’s legacy is neglected no more. In 2014, at the behest of music producer Kevin Nutt, Chris Brown went on a search for Smith’s grave only to discover it was unmarked. After getting help from the cemetery staff, Brown located the grave.

The obscurity of Smith’s grave inspired a crowd-sourced fundraiser which saw money donated from as far away as London. After raising funds, the high-flying, wing-wearing, Gibsonplaying Elder Utah Smith finally got his gravestone. At the dedication ceremony in 2018, the marker was officially revealed. The epitaph on the stone is one that writer Chris Jay described as “about as cool as they come.”

It reads in part: “Electric Guitar Evangelist.”

Plans are also in the works to create a mural in downtown Shreveport honoring Elder Utah Smith’s life and fueling the two-winged preacher’s legacy for generations to come.

Elder Utah Smith is buried in Shreveport in Carver Memorial Cemetery, 498 Kennie Road. His now-marked grave can be found in Section A, Lot 70, Grave 5.