Its current structure began in 1983 with 13 full-time musicians.

That education is still helping him make a living as a full-time musician.

While in the hospital, Smith went through a period of depression, before making the decision to become a full-time musician.

"But it's a hard way to make a living as a full-time musician," he said.

In the late 1960s he resigned his teaching position to become a full-time musician.

Well, within a matter of five years, I realized he was never going to really be a full-time musician.

The management plan would give full-time musicians, who have been earning $20,000 a year, "a 37 percent pay cut," he said.

He was a full-time musician in the Detroit area at the time of his death.

He again became a full-time musician in 1975, struggling at times to make ends meet.

Eventually, they decided to leave school, get an apartment and become full-time musicians.