The World’s Best 5-String Banjo (King 861) is an instrumental LP by Don Reno, Red Smiley and the Tennessee Cut-Ups, the band the two formed in 1955 and kept together until November 1964. Most of it was recorded at King Studios in Cincinnati on 9 April and 3 June 1963, with Reno on banjo, Smiley on guitar, Mack Magaha on fiddle, Ronnie Reno on mandolin and John Palmer on bass. Steve Chapman adds a second guitar on most tracks, Ray Pennington plays drums on four of the April titles, and Sid Campbell plays rhythm guitar on “My Old Kentucky Home” and “Chinese Breakdown.”
Two tracks, “Missile Ride” and “Buggy Ride,” come from a King session of 25 November 1958, and “Green Mountain Hop” from 25 April 1955 at radio station WBT in Charlotte, where Reno played banjo, guitar, bass and drums himself. All three are Reno compositions (“Buggy Ride” is credited to Reno and Smiley). The remainder is traditional or well-known material, including “Cripple Creek,” “Pretty Polly,” “Bill Bailey” and “Weeping Willow Tree,” along with “Nine Pound Hammer,” credited to Merle Travis.
Tracklist
- 1 My old Kentucky home 1:52
- 2 Nine Pound Hammer alt version 2:55
- 3 Chinese breakdown 2:05
- 4 Bill Bailey 2:25
- 5 Missile ride 2:12
- 6 Green Mountain hop 2:10
- 7 Cripple Creek alt version 2:18
- 8 Pretty Polly alt version 3:33
- 9 Seeing Nellie home 1:53
- 10 Keep your skillet good and greasy 2:09
- 11 Weeping Willow Tree (Instrumental) alt version 2:01
- 12 Buggy ride 2:09
