53 Years Ago Today, Eric Weissberg Was at No. 1 With a 10-Year-Old Album That Was Released Without His Knowledge

Fifty-three years ago today (March 30), Eric Weissberg was at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with Dueling Banjos. Released as the soundtrack for the hit film Deliverance, the LP spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. Unfortunately, the album was already in stores and climbing the charts before Weissberg learned of its release. Later, he filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros.

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Dueling Banjos started its four-week run at No. 1 on March 17, 1973. However, the wild story behind it starts nearly two decades earlier, in 1954. That year, Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith wrote “Fuedin’ Banjos” and recorded it with Don Reno. Nearly a decade later, Weissberg and Marshall Brickman recorded an album titled New Dimensions in Bluegrass and Banjo. They released the LP via Elektra Records. Warner Music Group acquired Elektra and its catalog in the early 1970s.

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In an open letter, Weissberg revealed how this hit album came to be. He was doing session work in New York when he got a phone call asking if he’d be interested in recording “Dueling Banjos” for an upcoming movie. He accepted the gig and traveled to Georgia to cut the song with Steve Mandell. Weissberg largely forgot about the recording until roughly a year later, when he learned that the song had been released as a single from someone he was working with during a studio session.

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Eric Weissberg bought several copies of the single before contacting his lawyer. While speaking to the attorney, he said he could record a dozen bluegrass songs and have a new album, featuring the rising single, ready to release within a week. The lawyer called Warner Music and floated the idea. Then, he learned that the album was already on shelves.

The soundtrack from Deliverance was actually New Dimensions in Bluegrass and Banjo with a new cover and new liner notes. Additionally, the label had removed two original songs written by Weissberg and Brickman and added “Dueling Banjos” to the tracklist. To make things worse, most of the musicians, including Brickman, were uncredited.

Weissberg wasn’t able to file a lawsuit against Warner because they owned all of the music on the LP. However, Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith took Weissberg and the label to court. He had written the hit album’s title track, which was also a hit, and was not credited.

They were able to settle the suit out of court, with the label paying Smith a handsome sum and agreeing to credit him on future releases.

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