CMH RECORDS RELEASES THE DON RENO STORY WITH MUSIC FROM DON RENO & BILL HARRELL & THE TENNESSEE CUT-UPS
LEGACY TITLE NOW AVAILABLE FOR FIRST TIME ON DIGITAL AND STREAMING
DOUBLE LP FIRST RECORDED FOR CMH IN 1976 REVISITS CLASSICS FROM THE HALL OF FAME BANDLEADER’S CAREER
CMH RECORDS (County. Music. Heritage.) maintains a rich history of classic country and bluegrass albums and is honoring several of these legacy releases by remastering them and making them available in digital format for the first time ever. The Don Reno Story, an expansive double LP set from Don Reno, Bill Harrell and The Tennessee Cut-Ups, is out on digital and streaming, July 14.
Stream Don Reno & Bill Harrell & The Tennessee Cut-Ups’ The Don Reno Story here.
On this excellent double LP, recorded specifically for CMH records in 1976, the band adeptly revisit many classics from throughout the bandleader’s career, including many of his earliest works like “The Lord’s Last Supper,” “(I’m Gone) Long Gone,” “I’m Using My Bible for a Roadmap” and “I’m the Talk of the Town.” These songs are captured in the highest fidelity a studio of the time would have to offer, providing a clear, warm and authentic late-career snapshot of these incredible artists and instrumentalists.
Mass audiences may be familiar with Don Reno’s iconic playing via his and Arthur Smith’s surprise hit “Feudin’ Banjos” (made famous as “Dueling Banjos” in the 1972 film Deliverance), but the musician’s history and work goes much deeper than that.
Born in Spartanburg, North Carolina in 1926 and raised on a farm, Don Reno began playing guitar when he was only five years old and picked up a banjo shortly after. A masterful songwriter, vocalist and a great innovator of guitar and banjo techniques, Reno recorded over 25 full-length albums and over 60 singles dating back to his earliest recordings with The Tennessee Cut-Ups in 1952.
Reno is recognized for developing his own two-finger “single string” approach to the banjo and likewise considered a foundational adopter of flatpicking guitar technique within bluegrass, both of which had major influence upon developing the genre. He was inducted in the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2010. CMH Records has several original Don Reno recordings in its back catalogue, including Home In The Mountains and Dear Old Dixie.
Founded in 1975 by Martin Haerle, CMH Records has released albums from artists whose monumental influence on American roots music is unparalleled. The label is responsible for essential recordings throughout the 70s and 80s by bluegrass, old time and traditional country music legends such as Merle Travis, The Osborne Brothers, Mac Wiseman, Joe Maphis, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Grandpa Jones, Lester Flatt and Eddie Adcock.
Throughout the ‘90s and into the new millennium, CMH Records continued to cut records with artists such as Wanda Jackson (aka “The Queen of Rockabilly”), Raul Malo, Larry Cordle, Pine Mountain Railroad, Jimmy Gaudreau, and many others. Producing songs rich in American heritage by artists with their own distinct style created a strong backbone and history for the label.
The label remains a proud family business, now run by Martin’s son David. Described by the Los Angeles Times as a “stubborn, curious Silver Lake music company,” the label has been a strong proponent for honest music and has found success with its classic catalog and its ongoing “Pickin’ On” series, which features bluegrass interpretations of contemporary artists, including recent hit albums dedicated to the music of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Modest Mouse.
The Times piece added that CMH “meets unsung needs in the music industry” and cited its “creative diversification.”
Track List for Don Reno & Bill Harrell & The Tennessee Cut-Ups’ The Don Reno Story:
1. Charlotte Breakdown
2. Just a Phone Call Will Do
3. Bringin’ in the Georgia Mail
4. Little Rock Getaway
5. The Lord’s Last Supper
6. I’m Using My Bible for a Roadmap
7. Reno Ride
8. I’m the Talk of the Town
9. (I’m Gone) Long Gone
10. Gold Digger
11. Country Boy Rock and Roll
12. I Know You’re Married but I Love You Still
13. Dixie Breakdown
14. I Couldn’t Win
15. He’s Coming Back to Earth Again
16. Remington Ride
17. Don’t Let Your Sweet Love Die
18. Trail of Sorrow
19. Limehouse Blues
20. My Mother’s Bible
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