an instrumental composition made famous by the 1972 motion picture Deliverance. A scene depicts Billy Redden playing it opposite Ronny Cox, who joins him on guitar. Redden plays "Lonnie" — a mentally retarded, inbred, but extremely gifted banjo player. A body double actually played the banjo. The song went to #2 for four weeks on the U.S. pop chart in 1973 and topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks the same year. It also led to a successful lawsuit by the song's composer, since it was used in the film without his permission.
"Dueling Banjos" was arranged and performed for the movie by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell and was included on the soundtrack album. The song had been composed in 1955 by Arthur Smith as a banjo instrumental he called "Feudin' Banjos". Smith recorded it, playing a four-string plectrum banjo and accompanied by five-string bluegrass banjo player Don Reno. When he was not acknowledged as the composer by the filmmakers, Smith sued. He eventually won, receiving songwriting credit as well as royalties. Two young musicians, Ron Brentano and Mike Russo, had originally been signed to play their adaptation for the movie, but instead it was performed by the others.
Because this tape is sealed new and we cannot inspect for play-ability, we offer no warranty or guarantees on how well this tape will perform once it is opened and removed from the cellophane package. Because this sealed new 8-track tape is very old, the foam pad and glue on the foil splice most often has a tendency to deteriorate over many years of time. Always inspect and replace if necessary those items before playing any sealed new 8-track tape, or damage to the tape and player may occur.
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