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Arlen Smith's days in a rock band are past, but he keeps his ear to the ground for new technology and its varied adaptations. |
GRAND RAPIDS — It could be said that Arlen Smith has been led by the ear through his entire career. And it is that listening ear that took him from a small rock 'n' roll band in Grand Rapids to starting a successful audiovisual company.
At the tender age of 19, Smith was recruited by Motown Records and went to work in Detroit with bands such as the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Parliaments and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.