Song:Dueling Banjos
Album:Appalachian Stomp: Bluegrass Classics
No one was more surprised than Eric Weissberg when his version of Dueling Banjos became a top five pop hit in 1973. Apparently Weissberg was not aware that his version of the song was used in the hit film Deliverance. But it introduced bluegrass music to a lot of people and Weissberg went back to playing sessions. He was born Aug. 16, 1939 in Brooklyn, NY and attended the Julliard School Of Music. His first real group was The Tarriers who originally recorded The Banana Boat Song. Though he started out playing bass, he soon became known for playing numerous instruments. Weissberg toured with Judy Collins after The Tarriers split up in 1965 and started his long career as a session musician. He has played on numerous recordings and still does that today. So he was called to the set of the film Deliverance in Atlanta in 1972 and he brought Steve Mandell with him to coach the actors to play Dueling Banjos in the film. Much to his surprise, Warner Bros. issued Weissberg's version as a single and it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then they tacked it on to an old album that Weissberg had recorded in 1963 for Elektra. And Warners listed the songwriting credit as Traditional. But Dueling Banjos was originally called Feuding Banjos and was written by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith and he recorded it with banjo player Don Reno in 1955. Smith successfully sued Warners for royalties. Weissberg formed Rural Free Delivery to attempt to capitalize but returned to sessions in the mid-70s. In the 90s, Weissberg toured with Art Garfunkel and in recent years he has toured with Tom Paxton and he still plays sessions. This Rhino various artists comp is a good intro to bluegrass for beginners. Here's the Dueling Banjos scene from Deliverence.
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