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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Don Reno| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Donald Wesley Reno| alias =| birth_date = birth date|1927|2|21|birth_place = Buffalo, South Carolina|Buffalo , South Carolina , United States | death_date = death date and age|1984|10|16|1927|2|21| origin = Haywood County, North Carolina|Haywood County , North Carolina , United States | instrument = 5-string banjo , acoustic guitar | genre = bluegrass music | occupation = musician| years_active = 1939& ndash;1984| label = King Records (United States)|King , Starday Records|Starday , Jalyn, CMH Records|CMH | associated_acts = The Morris Brothers , Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith|Arthur Smith , Bill Monroe , Red Smiley , Reno and Smiley , Bill Harrell, Reno & Harrell, Frank Wakefield , Don Wayne Reno | website = http://www.donreno.com www.donreno.com| notable_instruments = "Nellie," a 1935/36 Prewar Gibson banjo|Gibson RB-3/RB-75 flathead previously owned by Earl Scruggs ,cite web| last = Cushman| first = Charlie| authorlink =| coauthors =| title = Scruggs/Reno 1935 RB-3| work =| publisher =| date = 2009-03-13| url = http://www.charliecushman.com/ScruggsReno.htm| doi =| accessdate = 2009-07-14 1933/34 Gibson RB-Granada banjo Don Wesley Reno (February 21, 1927 & ndash; October 16, 1984) was an American Bluegrass music|bluegrass and country music ian best known as a banjo player in partnership with Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley|Red Smiley , and later with guitarist Bill Harrell .
Biography
Born in Buffalo, South Carolina , Don Reno grew up on a farm in Haywood County, North Carolina|Haywood County , North Carolina . He began playing the banjo#Five-string banjo|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.Cite book | last = Wernick| first = Peter| author-link = | contribution = Interview with Don Reno| editor-last = Goldsmith| editor-first = Thomas| title = The Bluegrass Reader| volume = | pages = 54& ndash;58| publisher = University of Illinois Press| place = Champaign, Ill. | year = 2004| isbn = 0-252-02914-3 He left one year later to join Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith|Arthur Smith , with whom he would years later record " Feuding Banjos|Feudin' Banjos ". In 1943 he received an offer from Bill Monroe to become a member of the Bluegrass Boys, but chose instead to enlist in the United States Army . Trained as a horse soldier at Fort Riley , Kansas, he was sent to the Pacific Theater to fight on foot. He eventually served in Merrill's Marauders and was wounded in action.cite web |url= http://bluegrassbanjo.org/donreno.html|title= Don Reno|author= Don Wayne Reno|date= |work= Banjo Tablatures and Bluegrass Information|publisher= Phillip Mann|accessdate=January 27, 2010
Influenced by Old-time music|old-time banjo player Snuffy Jenkins and others, Reno developed his own three finger "single-string" style 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 .' 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."cite web | last = | first =| authorlink =| coauthors =| title = Biography| work = | publisher = King Records| year = 2000| url = http://www.donreno.com/bio.htm| doi = | accessdate = 2008-12-09
In 1948 Reno became a member of the Bluegrass Boys. Two years later, with Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley|Red Smiley , 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 lineup 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 Reno 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 on fiddle, and Pat Campbell on bass. Reno began performing with his sons Don Wayne Reno|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, Virginia . In 1992 he was posthumously inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor .
See also
Keith style
Scruggs style
References
reflist
Further reading
Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick. Masters of the 5-String Banjo, Oak Publications, 1988.
External links
http://web.archive.org/web/20080822231520/ http://www.donreno.com/ Don Reno website (archived 2008)
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p41169|pure_url=yes Don Reno entry at AllMusic.com
Persondata | NAME = Reno, Don | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = Musician | DATE OF BIRTH = February 21, 1927 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Buffalo, South Carolina | DATE OF DEATH = October 16, 1984 | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Reno, Don Category:1927 births Category:1984 deaths Category:American banjoists Category:American bluegrass musicians Category:American country musicians Category:International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor inductees Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:People from Spartanburg, South Carolina Category:King Records artists Category:MGM Records artists
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