Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell - Dueling Banjos

“Dueling Banjos“ is an instrumental composition by Arthur “Guitar Boogie“ Smith. The song was composed in 1955 by Smith as a banjo instrumental he called “Feudin’ Banjos“, which contained riffs from “Yankee Doodle“. Smith recorded it playing a four-string plectrum banjo and accompanied by five-string bluegrass banjo player Don Reno. The version by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell went to #2 for four weeks on the Hot 100 in 1973 and topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks the same year. The song was made famous by the 1972 film Deliverance, which also led to a successful lawsuit by the song’s composer, as it was used in the film without his permission.