Don Wesley Reno (February 21, 1927 - October 16, 1984) was a
bluegrassBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has roots in Irish, West African, Scottish, Welsh and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland , and African-Americans, particularly...
and
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
ian best known as a banjo player in partnership with
Red SmileyArthur Lee "Red" Smiley was a bluegrass and country musician, best known for his collaboration with Don Reno under the name Reno and Smiley....
and later Bill Harrell.
Born in in
Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina....
, Don Reno grew up on a farm in
Haywood CountyHaywood County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 54,033. Its county seat and largest city is Waynesville.-History:...
,
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
. He began playing the banjo at the age of five. His father gave him a guitar four years later; and in 1939 12-year-old Reno joined the Morris Brothers in performing at a local radio station.
Don Wesley Reno (February 21, 1927 - October 16, 1984) was a
bluegrassBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has roots in Irish, West African, Scottish, Welsh and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland , and African-Americans, particularly...
and
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
ian best known as a banjo player in partnership with
Red SmileyArthur Lee "Red" Smiley was a bluegrass and country musician, best known for his collaboration with Don Reno under the name Reno and Smiley....
and later Bill Harrell.
Biography
Born in in
Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina....
, Don Reno grew up on a farm in
Haywood CountyHaywood County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 54,033. Its county seat and largest city is Waynesville.-History:...
,
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
. He began playing the banjo at the age of five. His father gave him a guitar four years later; and in 1939 12-year-old Reno joined the Morris Brothers in performing at a local radio station. He left one year later to join Arthur Smith, with whom he would years later recorded "Feudin' Banjos." In 1943 he received an offer from
Bill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who helped develop the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and...
to become a member of the Bluegrass Boys, but chose instead to enlist in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
. Trained as a horse soldier at
Fort RileyFort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, Kansas, he was sent to the Pacific Theater to fight on foot. He eventually served in
Merrill's MaraudersMerrill’s Marauders, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit , was a United States long range penetration special forces unit in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II which fought in the Burma Campaign, famed for its deep movements behind Japanese rear defenses and thrusts towards...
and was wounded in action.
Influenced by
old-timeOld-time music is a form of North American folk music, with roots in the folk musics of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. This musical form developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre...
banjo player
Snuffy JenkinsDeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins was an American old time banjo player.-Biography:Jenkins was born in Harris, North Carolina, as the last of ten children. He began playing the fiddle as a plucked instrument, switched to guitar and later to a home made banjo he and his brother Verl had built...
and others, Reno developed his own three finger "single-string" style that allowed him to play scales and complicated fiddle tunes note-for-note. According to his son,
Don Wayne RenoDon Wayne Reno is a bluegrass musician and banjo player, and also an ordained minister. He is a son of famed blue grass musician Don Reno. Reno is the mainstay of Hayseed Dixie with his brother Dale Reno as the mandolinist.-External links:*...
, "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 ScruggsEarl Eugene Scruggs is a musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger style on the 5-string banjo that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. Although other musicians had played in 3-finger style before him, Scruggs shot to prominence when he was hired by Bill Monroe to...
.' 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."
In 1948 Reno became a member of the Bluegrass Boys. Two years later, with
Red SmileyArthur Lee "Red" Smiley was a bluegrass and country musician, best known for his collaboration with Don Reno under the name Reno and Smiley....
, he formed
Reno and SmileyReno and Smiley were a musical duo composed of two highly talented musicians, Don Reno and Red Smiley. They were one of the greatest duos in country music of the 1950s and early '60s.-How They Met:...
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." In 1964, after the retirement of Red Smiley, Reno and guitarist Bill Harrell formed
Reno & Harrell. Red Smiley joined Reno & Harrell in 1969, remaining with them until his death in 1972. From 1964 until 1971 Reno also performed with
Benny MartinBenny Edward Martin , was an American bluegrass fiddler who invented the 8-string fiddle.-Biography:Born in Sparta, Tennessee, his father and two of his sisters played music professionally...
. In the 1970s he played with The Good Ol' Boys, composed of
Frank WakefieldFranklin Delano Roosevelt Wakefield is an American mandolin player. He is notable as a great bluegrass player and for his significant innovations that have shaped the way many musicians play the mandolin...
on mandolin,
David NelsonDavid or Dave Nelson may refer to:* Dave Nelson , American baseball player and sportscaster* David Nelson , American actor, director and producer* David Nelson , American electronic sports player...
on guitar,
Chubby WiseRobert Russell "Chubby" Wise was an American bluegrass fiddler.Wise began playing fiddle at age 15, working locally in the Jacksonville area. He joined the Jubilee Hillbillies in 1938, then began playing with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1942, including dates at the Grand Ole Opry...
on fiddle, and Pat Campbell on bass. Reno began performing with his sons Don Wayne and Dale in later years.
Don Reno died in 1984 at the age of 57. He is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery,
Lynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 72,596 at the 2008 U.S. census estimate. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", "The Hill City" and sometimes...
. He was inducted into the
International Bluegrass Music Hall of HonorInduction 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 maintained at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in...
in 1992.
External links