Reno and Smiley
Bands / Ensembles
Reno and Smiley (1951–1964) were a bluegrass act based in Roanoke, Virginia, led by banjo player Don Reno and guitarist and lead singer Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley, with their band the Tennessee Cut-Ups. Reno, a former member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, met Smiley in 1950 in fiddler Tommy Magness's Tennessee Buddies, and the two first recorded together under Magness in 1951. They formed their own band that fall, and in January 1952 they made the first of more than 200 recordings for King Records, including Reno's gospel song "I'm Using My Bible for a Roadmap." At first they struggled to find work, so they kept recording for King without touring while Reno worked with Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith and Smiley as a mechanic. By the mid-1950s they were performing regularly as Don Reno, Red Smiley and the Tennessee Cut-Ups, with fiddler Mack Magaha and bassist John Palmer, and worked on Roanoke television. They parted amicably in 1964. Smiley kept their TV slot with his own Bluegrass Cut-Ups, and Reno went on to partner with Bill Harrell. Smiley rejoined Reno for touring and recording from 1969 until his death on January 2, 1972. The two were inducted into the IBMA Hall of Honor in 1992.
In the newsletter
- No. 10 Winter 1997