Founding Father of the Bluegrass Banjo by Don Reno, released in 2008 as a retrospective collection, documents one of the most technically innovative five-string banjoists of the first bluegrass generation. Reno, who developed his own three-finger picking style independent of and nearly simultaneous with Earl Scruggs, brought a single-string melodic approach and jazz-influenced chord work to the instrument that pointed forward to the melodic and chromatic playing of later decades. His work with Red Smiley in the 1950s and 1960s produced some of the most recorded bluegrass in the canon, and this collection draws on that period to present Reno's technical achievements in their original context. For banjoists interested in the instrument's early evolution, this album is required listening alongside Scruggs's own recordings.
Tracklist
- 1 I'm The Talk Of The Town 2:48
- 2 Dixie Breakdown Source Recording 2:25
- 3 Home In The Mountains 2:07
- 4 Feudin' Banjos - Live 2:16
- 5 Using My Bible For a Roadmap alt version 2:55
- 6 Follow The Leader 2:00
- 7 I Know You’re Married alt version 2:14
- 8 Charlotte Breakdown 1:50
- 9 Country Boy Rock 'n Roll 2:38
- 10 Five Foot Two Eyes Of Blue 2:18
- 11 Are You Missing Me alt version 2:22
- 12 Dear Old Dixie alt version 2:57
- 13 I Want To Go Back To The Mountains 2:47
- 14 Reno Ride 2:58
- 15 One Morning In May 3:24
- 16 Banjo Signal Source Recording 2:08
- 17 The Lord's Last Supper 2:07
- 18 Cincinnati Rag 2:47
- 19 Limehouse Blues Source Recording 1:20
- 20 Miss Elsie's Place 3:29
- 21 Skyline Drive 3:11
- 22 He's Coming Back To Earth Again 2:17
- 23 I'm Gone Long Gone 2:30
- 24 Bye Bye Blues 2:48
- 25 Take Me Along For The Ride 2:57
