About Tumbleweed Smith

Besides being the runner up in his 5th grade spelling bee, Tumbleweed Smith produced the syndicated radio program, The Sound of Texas, which has been on the aired on Texas stations since

August 1, 1969.

Baylor has archived Tumbleweed Smith's collections in the Texas Collection of the University.

Tumbleweed Smith is an award winning producer of audio and video documentaries, authored two books, produced 18 records, cassettes and CDs on Texas life. 

He taught speech, feature writing and broadcasting at The University of Texas Permain Basin for 34 years.

Tumbleweed has entertained audiences in banquet halls and theaters since 1973.

Texas native Tumbleweed Smith started his daily radio program, The Sound of Texas, in 1969. It went on to become the most widely syndicated feature program in Texas. In the show's 57 years, he developed the largest independent collection of oral history in the United States with a library of 14,820 interviews. On July 31, 2026, the date of the show's final broadcast, he received the Big Spring Mayor's Proclamation commemorating 57 years of The Sound of Texas. His archives are at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

By 1986 Smith's passion for bringing Texas characters to life over the airways expanded

into the syndicated weekly newspaper column, Rolling Across Texas.