Don Reno
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Donald Wesley Reno (February 21, 1926Trischka, Tony, "Don Reno", ''Banjo Song Book'', Oak Publications, 1977, – October 16, 1984) was an American bluegrass and
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
ian, best known as a pioneering banjo and guitar player who partnered with
Red Smiley Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
, and later with guitarist Bill Harrell.


Life and career

Born in
Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest c ...
, United States, Don Reno grew up on a farm in
Haywood County, North Carolina Haywood County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,089. The county seat and its largest city is Waynesville. Haywood County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical ...
. He began learning
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
at the age of five after borrowing a neighbors guitar, and not long after began learning
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
. In 1939, the 13-year-old Reno joined the Morris Brothers in performing at a local radio station. He left one year later to join
Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith Arthur Smith (April 1, 1921 – April 3, 2014) was an American musician, songwriter, and producer of records, as well as a radio and TV host. Smith produced radio and TV shows; ''The Arthur Smith Show'' was the first nationally syndicated coun ...
, with whom he would years later record " Feudin' Banjos". In 1943, he received an offer from
Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...
to become a member of the Bluegrass Boys, but chose instead to enlist in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. Trained as a horse soldier at
Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gear ...
, he was sent to the Pacific Theater to fight on foot. He eventually served in
Merrill's Marauders Merrill’s Marauders (named after Frank Merrill) or Unit ''Galahad'', officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), was a United States Army long range penetration special operations jungle warfare unit, which fought in the Southe ...
and was wounded in action. Influenced by old-time banjo player
Snuffy Jenkins DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins (October 27, 1908 – April 29, 1990) was an American old time banjo player and an early proponent of the three-finger banjo style. Biography Jenkins was born in Harris, North Carolina,Trischka, Tony, "Sonny Osborne" ...
and others, Reno developed his own two finger "single-string" style, typically using either his index or middle finger along with his thumb, to pick a single string repeatedly, that allowed him to play scales and complicated fiddle tunes note-for-note. The Reno style encompasses much more than just single-string picking; double-stops, double-time picking, triple-pull offs—all of these, and other techniques make Reno's playing recognizable. According to his son, Don Wayne Reno, "My dad told me more than once that the reason he started his own style of banjo picking was this: When he came out of the service, many people said 'You sound just like
Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...
.' He said that really bothered him considering he never played a banjo while he was in the service, and when he returned to the U.S., he continued to play in the style he had always played before." Reno was also a major pioneer of
flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...
guitar. By 1946 he was regularly performing on the
WSPA-FM WSPA-FM (98.9 MHz, "Magic 98.9") is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to serve Spartanburg, South Carolina and covering the Upstate region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The Audacy, Inc. outlet is licensed by the Federal Commu ...
station out of
Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest c ...
as a lead guitarist with different groups. Around this time he began giving guitar lessons to
Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004), professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz al ...
, and the two soon did twin guitar performances at the station. During the Reno and Smiley years, Reno would often switch from banjo to guitar especially on gospel songs, and
fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
tunes. One song Reno wrote "Country Boy Rock and Roll" considered to be the first bluegrass song to feature
lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
as the main instrument. Reno would occasionally even play
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
during some performances in the 1950s. Reno continued playing guitar on and off during his time with Bill Harrell and recorded many guitar instrumentals during this time.
Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...
was influenced by Reno's guitar playing, even saying during an interview the first time he heard someone play fiddle tunes on a guitar was Don Reno. Other accomplished guitarists including
Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, ...
and
Joe Maphis Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music". One of the flashiest co ...
were influenced by Reno's guitar style. In 1948, Reno became a member of the Blue Grass Boys. Two years later, with
Red Smiley Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
, he formed Reno and Smiley and the Tennessee Cutups, a partnership that lasted fourteen years. Among their hits were "I'm Using My Bible For A Road Map", "I Wouldn't Change You If I Could" and "Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die". Included in this line-up was his son, Ronnie Reno, who played mandolin. Videos from those days are shown regularly on Ronnie's show on RFD-TV. In 1964, after the retirement of Red Smiley, Reno and guitarist Bill Harrell formed Reno & Harrell. Red Smiley joined Reno and Harrell in 1969, remaining with them until his death in 1972. From 1964 until 1971, he also performed with Benny Martin. In the 1970s, he played with The Good Ol' Boys, composed of Frank Wakefield on mandolin, David Nelson on guitar,
Chubby Wise Robert Russell "Chubby" Wise (October 2, 1915 – January 6, 1996) was an American bluegrass fiddler. Originally starting out playing the banjo and guitar, Wise began playing fiddle at age 12, working locally in the Jacksonville area. He joined ...
on fiddle, and Pat Campbell on bass. Reno began performing with his sons
Don Wayne Don Wayne was an American designer and consultant who has developed illusions for some of the world's most famous magicians. He also created and marketed smaller illusions used by many professional performers. He was the owner of the company Don ...
and Dale in later years.


Death

Don Reno died in 1984 aged 58, in
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, of a "circulatory ailment." He is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery,
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...
. In 1992, he was posthumously inducted into the
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...
.


Discography

* ''Mr. 5-String'' (1965) * ''A Song for Everyone'' (1966) * ''Bluegrass Gospel Favorites'' (1967) — with Benny Martin; reissued on CD as ''Gospel Songs from Cabin Creek'' * ''Don Reno & His Tennessee Cut-Ups'' (1966) * ''Rural Rhythm Presents Don Reno & Bill Harrell with the Tennessee Cut-Ups'' (1967) * ''A Variety of New Sacred Gospel Songs'' (1968) * ''The Sensational Twin Banjos of Eddie Adcock and Don Reno'' (1968) * ''All the Way to Reno'' (1969) — with Bill Harrell * ''Fastest Five Strings Alive'' (1969) * ''I'm Using My Bible Like a Roadmap'' (1969) — with Bill Harrell * ''Bluegrass Favorites'' (1969) — with Bill Harrell * ''The Most Requested Songs of Don Reno, Bill Harrell and the Tennessee Cut-Ups'' (1970) * ''Letter Edged in Black'' (1971) — with Red Smiley and Bill Harrell * ''Bluegrass Legends "Together"'' (1972) — with Charlie Moore * ''Profile'' (1972) — with Red Smiley, Bill Harrell, Ronnie Reno and Charlie Moore * ''Bluegrass on my Mind'' (1972) — with Bill Harrell * ''Tally-Ho'' (1973) — with Bill Harrell * ''Don Reno on Stage'' (1974) * ''Rivers and Roads'' (1974) — with Bill Harrell * ''Bi-Centennial Bluegrass'' (1975) — with Bill Harrell * ''Spice of Life'' (1975) — with Bill Harrell * ''Dear Old Dixie'' (1976) — with Bill Harrell * ''Home in the Mountains'' (1977) — with Bill Harrell * ''The Don Reno Story'' (1977) — with Bill Harrell * ''Magnificent Bluegrass Band'' (1978) * ''Feudin' Again'' (1979) — with Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith * ''The Bluegrass Cardinals Live & On Stage'' (1980) — with 7 tracks by guests Don Reno & the Tennessee Cut-Ups * ''30th Anniversary Album'' (1980) * ''The Original Dueling Banjos'' (1983) — with Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith * ''Still Cutting Up'' (1983) * ''Banjo Bonanza'' (1983) — with Bobby Thompson & The Cripple Creek Quartet * ''Final Chapter'' (1986) * ''Family and Friends'' (1989) * ''The Golden Guitar of Don Reno'' (2000) — previously unreleased recordings made in November 1972 with Bill Harrell and Buck Ryan


See also

* Keith style *
Scruggs style Scruggs style is the most common style of playing the banjo in bluegrass music. It is a fingerpicking method, also known as three-finger style. It is named after Earl Scruggs, whose innovative approach and technical mastery of the instrument hav ...


References


Further reading

* Trischka, Tony & Pete Wernick. ''Masters of the 5-String Banjo'', Oak Publications, 1988; /


External links

* * Don Reno entry at AllMusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reno, Don 1926 births 1984 deaths American country banjoists American bluegrass musicians American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from North Carolina King Records artists MGM Records artists Monument Records artists Country musicians from South Carolina Musicians from Appalachia People from Haywood County, North Carolina Musicians from Spartanburg, South Carolina 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from North Carolina People from Union County, South Carolina United States Army personnel of World War II Singer-songwriters from South Carolina