The Writer of "Walk, Don't Run" Who Had a Revered Technique Lawrence Grinnell Johnny Smith playing in a Tucson music store in the late 1970s. Johnny Smith, a jazz guitarist who was considered one of the emerging greats of his generation when he left the limelight in 1958 to move to Colorado, open a record store and become a full-time parent, died on June 11 at his home in Colorado Springs. His daughter, Kim Smith Stewart, confirmed his death. Mr. Smith was revered by guitarists for his pure tone and flawless technique, which gave his most complex improvisations an effortless, almost weightless quality. His dreamy rendition of "Moonlight in Vermont," recorded in 1952 with a group that included Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, was one of the best-selling jazz records of all time. But it was another song, the gentle, fugue-like "Walk, Don't Run," which he wrote in 1954, that became Mr. Smith's biggest hit. While his own recording of the piece received little attention, the Ventures had a Top 10