Don Reno
Donald Wesley Reno (February 21, 1926[1] – October 16, 1984)[2] was an American bluegrass and country musician, best known as a pioneering banjo and guitar player who partnered with Red Smiley, and later with guitarist Bill Harrell.
This article is about the musician born in 1926. For his son (born 1963), see Don Wayne Reno.
Don Reno
Donald Wesley Reno
February 21, 1926
Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
October 16, 1984 (aged 58)
Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Musician
5-string banjo, acoustic guitar
1939–1984
King, Starday, Dot Records, Monument, Jalyn, CMH, Rural Rhythm
Life and career[edit]
Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States,[3] Don Reno grew up on a farm in Haywood County, North Carolina. He began learning acoustic guitar at the age of five after borrowing a neighbor's guitar, and not long after began learning banjo. In 1939, the 13-year-old Reno joined the Morris Brothers in performing at a local radio station.[4]
He left one year later to join Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith,[1] with whom he would years later record "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.[1] He eventually served in Merrill's Marauders and was wounded in action.[5]
Influenced by old-time banjo player Snuffy Jenkins 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.[6] 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."[5][7]
Reno was also a major pioneer of flatpicking guitar. By 1946 he was regularly performing on the WSPA-FM station out of Spartanburg, South Carolina as a lead guitarist with different groups. Around this time he began giving guitar lessons to Hank Garland, 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 tunes. One song Reno wrote "Country Boy Rock and Roll" considered to be the first bluegrass song to feature lead guitar as the main instrument. Reno would occasionally even play electric guitar 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 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 and Joe Maphis were influenced by Reno's guitar style.[8]
In 1948, Reno became a member of the Blue Grass Boys. Two years later, with 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".[9] 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.[10][11]
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 on fiddle, and Pat Campbell on bass. Reno began performing with his sons Don Wayne and Dale in later years.[11]