Don Reno & Arthur Smith – Feudin Banjos (Dueling Banjos) (1955)

Recorded by Smith in 1955 later appeared in the famous movie Deliverance in 1972 as Dueling Banjos. Arthur Smith and his Crackerjacks got their careers started as a family group while in high school in Kershaw, South Carolina. They got their inspiration from their dad – who on Sundays was the director of a big brass band that was the pride of Kershaw. They often tell of the fact that their dad hoped they could play music every day of the week, not just on Sundays. Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks did that and some. When World War II began, the group split up. Arthur was in Naval Transportation, Sonny Smith was a radar man, Ralph Smith was an Army master sergeant. Even while in the service, they kept up their musical aspirations, for on leaves they would meet up in Washington to do some recordings. One of those sessions resulted in “Guitar Boogie”. You might say that became a hit – it sold over 3000000 copies. They pressed a silver platter for the Library of Congress. At the end of World War II, the group came to Charlotte and had done over a 1000 television shows, over 2000 radio broadcasts, 2500 personal appearances and 130 recordings! They decided to join radio station WBT when they got out of the service around 1946. Three years later, WBTV was on the air, too. The family group hired a fellow by the name of Tommy Faile who Arthur spoke highly of in 1947. The group had heard him on the radio and over a phone call, they hired him. And that began the “Crossroads Quartet …