Effort to Support “Deliverance” Banjo Boy Billy Redden Underway

In the annals of the banjo, perhaps no other song or scene is as iconic as the “Dueling Banjos” moment from the 1972 Southern thriller Deliverance. Starring Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jon Voight, and Ronny Cox, it’s the Ronnie Cox character in the film that gets into a musical duel at a backwoods gas stop with a local boy that was portrayed by a 15-year-old named Billy Redden.
Billy Redden is from the small town of Clayton, Georgia, and was picked to play the role due to his image giving off the impression of being inbred, which fit the casting for the film. Redden received very little compensation for his role in Deliverance, and no residual income from it either, despite the popularity of the “Dueling Banjos” scene specifically. Now there is an effort underway to properly recognize Redden, as well as compensate him into the future.
When “Dueling Banjos” appeared in the Deliverance film, it became a hit. Originally written by country musician Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith in 1954, the song was first called “Feudin’ Banjos,” and the first recording came about in 1955 between Smith and fellow banjo player Don Reno.
Deliverance was not the first time the song made an appearance on the screen. In 1963, an episode of The Andy Griffith Show featured the song being played by a musical family visiting Mayberry, portrayed and performed by members of The Dillards.
When the filmmakers decided to include “Dueling Banjos” in Deliverance, Arthur Smith initially didn’t receive credit. The version of the song in the film was arranged by multi-instrumentalist Eric Weissberg, and played with Steve Mandell. Weissberg was given the sole writing credit on the song. Arthur Smith would eventually sue and receive both a writing credit and royalties from the song.
Arthur Smith and everyone else involved in the song would ultimately be paid quite well. “Dueling Banjos” spent four week’s at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973—only kept out of the top spot by the hot streak of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” It was also a #5 song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and a #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. “Dueling Banjos” was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards, and won the 1974 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance.
15-year-old Billy Redden didn’t play on the track, either in the studio version that was dubbed into the film, nor in the film itself. A musician named Mike Addis was used to mimic the movement of Redden’s left hand to make the depiction in the film appear closer to the recording. Redden can’t even play the banjo. Nonetheless, it’s Billy Redden who is most synonymous with “Dueling Banjos,” even above the composers or players.
Over the years, Billy Redden has been remembered in the press upon occasion, including a feature in The New Yorker in 2003. But generally speaking, Redden has been lost in time. He’s not a professional actor, and instead has worked labor jobs in his local community for many years. Recently, he was in the hospital and racked up numerous medical bills. Now 68-years-old, over the last few years Redden has been working as a greeter and janitor at the Walmart in Clayton, GA.
Recently, a bluegrass musician named Lance Frantzich and other members of the California-based bluegrass band The Storytellers decided they wanted to do something to help Billy Redden, so they started a Go Fund Me campaign in hopes of seeding a trust fund that will be managed by a local attorney to make sure Redden is better taken care of moving forward.
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In the aftermath of Beyoncé releasing songs to the country market, a discussion has been reignited about the banjo’s origins as an instrument from West Africa—something that has never been disputed by historians or anyone else. However, there is a public perception that ties the banjo to lower class, poor, rural, and often, inbred Whites.
As Saving Country Music asserted recently, this public perception about the banjo is probably due at least in part to the popularity of the “Dueling Banjos” scene from Deliverance. But as opposed to surreptitiously trying to appropriate the banjo’s origins to White culture, some believe the scene is exploitative of distressed rural Whites, giving into the stereotype of the slack jawed mountain inbred, reinforced even further by the rape scene later in the Deliverance film.
Ronny Cox who plays “Dueling Banjos” opposite of Billy Redden in Deliverance takes issue with that characterization, saying that the Banjo Boy character was meant to portray a savant, not necessarily an inbred. Eric Weissberg who played on the “Dueling Banjo” track also points out that in the Deliverance novel, the Banjo Boy character named Lonnie was actually an albino, making Weissberg believe the character was supposed to be Black.
In the Deliverance novel, the character is described as, “…an albino boy with pink eyes like a white rabbit’s; one of them stared off at a furious and complicated angle. That was the eye he looked at us with, and with his face set in another direction. The sane, rational eye was fixed on something that wasn’t there, somewhere in the dust of the road.”
Regardless of how the original character was meant to be portrayed, along with potentially inadvertently helping to obfuscate the banjo’s true origins, Deliverance also casts the face of Billy Redden in a negative role that he never asked for, even if “Dueling Banjos” remains an interesting, entertaining, if not proud element of American culture.
Making sure Billy Redden is remembered and properly compensated seems like the proper thing to do.
March 11, 2024 @ 11:26 am
There is a lot to unpack when it comes to the history of the Banjo.
The concept of the Banjo is not uniquely African. Instruments made out of animal parts come from all over the world. Instruments with fretted necks Attached to a drum with a skin stretched over it, or not necessarily unique to Africa. Similar instruments made a snake skin are native to China..
Banjos, with a measured even number of strings of equal length have popped up in varying cultures all over the world
But what we consider the modern instrument, which, in its early days, would have been a skin stretched over a gourd with an uneven number of strings, one of them being a drone string, half the length of the others, this is more or less African in origin
The early Gord banjos were almost all fretless. Instruments with frets, whether or not, they had skin on them, or were made of gourds, were more European.
It isn’t even necessarily that one playing style was considered African or American at the time. Clawhammer is often mistaken for being the ‘black’ way to play early banjo music, but Dock Boggs learned fingerstyle from black performers,
Around the turn of the century what we now call classic Banjo style was tremendously popular among gentleman in the United States. Stylistically more similar to parlor, and classical guitar music, even the name classic style Banjo is incorrectly, confused with the word, classical, and subsequently misunderstood as having some connection to the melodic banjo style that would not be developed for another 70 years
Classic style banjo performers included Fred van Eps and Vess Ossman, and later charlie poole
Charlie Poole died in 31 and is generally the last classic style banjo player of note. Interestingly, the classic style banjo tuning was GCGBD, not open G tuning. Open tunings existed, Dock Boggs used many, as did uncle Dave Macon, a Poole contemporary who only became famous after retiring from his day job
But open tunings were for traditional music, and the modern pop music of the day was played in what is now sometimes called the C standard tuning
And it was very much an instrument and an art form of white gentleman of the 20s and 30s
The five string banjo fell out of style in no small part because of Eddie Peabody
I’m not going to hazard a guess as to exactly when the trend changed because my knowledge of that era of history is a little shaky, but after Charlie poole died in 1931 The next big Banjo superstar was Eddie Peabody, playing on the four string banjo
There wasn’t another meaning for banjo player of import until uncle Dave Macon, and he wasn’t exactly well known in sophisticated society.
So, in the greater pop-culture context, the next significant banjo player was Earl. Between Bonnie and Clyde and Beverly hillbillies, earl may have been one of the most listened to musicians in the world for a few years, but already the Banjo was now an instrument of the white illiterate, never mind that three decades earlier it was the instrument of the white gentleman.
But this goes to illustrate the power of movies and TV in shaping cultural consciousness. Between Bonnie and Clyde, Beverly, hillbillies, and deliverance, the 5 string banjo, previously the instrument of minstrel shows and civil war media, then the gentleman’s instrument of the 20s, was suddenly the instrument of the Inbreds.
Anyone interested in banjo history should listen to Tony trischka’s world turning album or the ‘ classic banjo collection ‘ off Amazon for recordings of classic style banjo players of the 20s
March 12, 2024 @ 7:28 pm
What About The Feller Pumping Gas When Asked about a Guide He Told Bert I think it was This ; THE RYMER BROTHERS THEY LIVE OVER YOUNDERWAY !!!!
HA HA HA can any of You Folks Tell This Ole Red Clay backwoods Georgia Boy Where YOUNDERWAY is ??? Lol
June 11, 2024 @ 3:37 pm
It’s over betwixt hither and Yon.,
March 12, 2024 @ 9:44 pm
Well hot dawg. Killing time catching up on SCM articles while in NZ on vacation; the wife’s having a nap before dinner- as you do…- leaving me at the motel pub trying not to look odd swilling beer at the lone picnic table closest to the lake-side highway. Triggers article was great (think I caught if earlier in the week from a bluegrass publication… Sorry trig) but this comment has provided a rabbit hole to go down that is going to make my lonesome beer drinking/ time killing look like an exercise in studiousness.
March 15, 2024 @ 5:24 pm
Billy did a really good acting job.Should have been a candidate for best supporting actor.
June 9, 2024 @ 6:33 am
Billy is probably the most world famous banjo player that never played a banjo
March 11, 2024 @ 1:24 pm
That song/movie/scene had a huge impact on the banjo and country music. He’s always going to be remembered but definitely will never get his due.
March 11, 2024 @ 1:47 pm
Love the article, but totally disagree with the statement that Deliverance “casts the face of Billy Redden in a negative role that he never asked for.”
I think the “Dueling Banjos” episoded is the most positive scene in the whole movie and the characters on the screen (and most viewers of the film) are mesmerized by the sight of this young kid besting the Ronny Cox character in the friendly “competition.”
The only thing remotely negative associated with Billy Redden and the scene is the somewhat pejorative name “Banjo Boy.” But the Billy Redden character was never called that in the movie and the term was not used by people who watched and wrote about “Deliverance,”
It’s hard to be sure of when a term was first used, without doing research, but from my recollection, the name “Banjo Boy” was first made prominent more than three decades later, by radio–and -for a while cable TV–shock jock Don Imus, whose insult-comedy-and-politics-oriented morning drive show was then simulcast on MSNBC. Imus picked a fight with Joe Scarborough, who was then a night-time host on the cable network and started calling Scarborough “Banjo Boy” based on a preceived–by Imus–facial resemblance between Scarborough and Redden, as he appeared in Deliverance. Imus ran with that and in his riffs, derided Scarborough as an ignorant hillbilly. It may seem crazy to people now, but it got a lot of laughs than, and Scarborough even responded on his own show to being called “Banjo Boy” by Imus.
March 11, 2024 @ 3:09 pm
I think you’re putting the cart before the horse a little bit here. The reason “Banjo Boy” is considered a pejorative is because the character in Deliverance was cast to come across as inbred. Some counter that characterization, and that’s why I included Ronny Cox’s opinion here so people could see both sides. But clearly some take the character to be inbred, leading to it being an insult for someone to call you a “Banjo Boy.”
March 11, 2024 @ 3:00 pm
Yea I’ve watched deliverance a few times far and he wasn’t looked upon negatively. Like some have said, it was admiration. Far as banjo origins, it doesn’t really matter. Just enjoy the show
March 11, 2024 @ 4:30 pm
What a SCENE! What a FILM! What a SONG! My gosh…absolute pure Americana!
March 11, 2024 @ 4:53 pm
banjo boy – is ok , what about the old dude that breaks out and busts a move dancing that foggy mountain jig …Epic
March 11, 2024 @ 7:21 pm
Hearing that today still brings me to tears.
My favorite.
March 11, 2024 @ 8:51 pm
No, he was most definitely a negative stereotype as the result of Appalachian inbreeding depicted in the film. Anything else is a repainting of history. Seeing him was supposed to help instill fear in the guys and the viewer, about just what these scary backwoods yokels were capable of doing to them.
As for this character, I recall not too long ago, a lady on TMZ, black actually, saying she heard he wasn’t a prodigy in reality, but a mentally challenged guy who had somebody else’s arms portraying his, actually playing. Now I see that he INDEED didn’t/doesn’t play, and you say ONE arm wasn’t his. Oh, and the other article said they DELIBERATELY put makeup and rubber, and told the guy to hold his face weird and act blind and ‘off’ for the character.
Again, it was a negative portrayal for sure!
The director was British, and gay, btw.
March 12, 2024 @ 8:14 pm
BTW, you appear to be half-right about the director of Deliverance. Yes, John Boorman is Briitish.
And he’s been married three times and fathered something like 7 children. He was knighted last year and is still going strong at 91. He doesn’t need me to respond to trollish comments about him that he won’t see, but I ‘m doing it anyway.
April 28, 2024 @ 12:08 pm
Sorry about the John Boorman error. I must have confused him with another Brit director, or heard bad info.
It does ring more true, that a gay would not depict homosexual behavior as a horrid punishment, so J.B. would be…….straight.
March 12, 2024 @ 6:35 am
Mostly everything which befell Bill Redden was disgusting,especially his portrayal as a special needs inbred in “Deliverance” to his getting almost no royalties from his “banjo” playing in the movie to his having to work menial jobs and being mostly forgotten the past half-century. I’m glad there is an effort to support Redden and reacquaint a new generation with him and his story.
March 12, 2024 @ 8:23 am
I am not reading all that but I will say that I will watch deliverance and will try to learn to play the banjo because I don’t play banjo but I will try to learn also I don’t play any other instrument rn lmfao
March 12, 2024 @ 8:34 am
Don Imus was a racist POS.Screw him.
March 12, 2024 @ 8:36 pm
Billy only got 500 dollars. Burt Reynolds made 50K. It was a tight low budget. Don’t think they paid any stunt doubles. The author of the model book was the Ainty Cty. Sherif at the movie end who caused alot of problems on set.
March 13, 2024 @ 1:05 am
You know, now that you’ve reminded me of it, I can’t think of one moment of Ned Beatty’s career other than, ahem, “that scene!” Can you?
March 13, 2024 @ 8:46 am
Please finish the story. WHAT did Scarborough-on is own show-say about Imus calling him “Banjo Boy”?
March 13, 2024 @ 9:30 am
The show was really good ,exceptionally fantastic but poor boy Billy needs to be paid alot more for even showing up to do his part .Even though the production is long gone now ,he should find who is still alive that produced or been involved in the production and riddill some money from their bank accounts.
March 14, 2024 @ 5:56 am
Bill Redden got FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS ??????? Way to rip off a poor Southern kid,folks !!!!!!!(Redden got ONE PERCENT of Burt Reynolds’ take ? Did folk intuit Reynolds’ impending stardom in 1972 ?)
April 28, 2024 @ 11:57 am
Todays big money for roles is a new thing, in part as they get ‘a piece of the back end’ just like the criminals did to Ned.
Recall that Liz Taylor making a million for ‘CLEOPATRA’ in the early sixties was such a jaw dropper.
March 14, 2024 @ 6:00 pm
Billy also appeared as a banjo player in a movie called Big Fish.
April 29, 2024 @ 1:15 pm
I believe Redden’s cameo in The Big Fish was unpaid. If you listen to the Director’s Cut, Tim Burton tells of how he located Redden working odd jobs at restaurants in his home town, and thought it would be clever and novel to plug him in that scene sitting on a porch with a banjo. Burton paid whatever expenses to bring him to Alabama at least. As pointed out by others, Redden is not a musician, the wonderful fretwork in that Dueling Banjos scene was acted out by another Rabun County native, Mike Addis, who was in fact a musician and was small enough in size to tuck behind Redden and send his left arm through Redden’s shirt sleeve. Nice work by the director and cinematographer to complete the illusion.
March 16, 2024 @ 8:00 am
Didn’t know it until the other day. Thanks,Dave.
March 18, 2024 @ 8:56 am
I saw the movie. I never thought anything else about his character, other than him being very talented and gifted!
March 23, 2024 @ 2:37 pm
Heard it was a fantastic movie. Took my girl friend to see it. Everything was going good until the Ned scene. The girl never went out with me ever again.
April 16, 2024 @ 11:40 am
Somebody pass the fundraising info to Hollywood, especially Steve Martin. Huge banjo fan, lots of them out there. He can reach the right people
April 28, 2024 @ 5:28 pm
If you look closely, you’ll see Billy Redden looks like a grown up version of Joe Biden. (Metaphorically speaking about inbreds)
April 29, 2024 @ 5:14 am
I went to learn how to play the bango with my left fingers now.i really went to learn to play bango
April 29, 2024 @ 12:57 pm
I believe Redden was unpaid for that brief cameo in The Big Fish. Director Tim Burton paid all expenses to bring him to Alabama for the shoot.
Billy has had a career working many years for various restaurants around Rabun County, and as mentioned, working at Walmart in his later years. He is liked by the community.
May 2, 2024 @ 1:21 am
I have the DVD of Deliverance, it is one of my top favorite movies.
I have to laugh,I was on a social media page & some one had posted a picture of Billy Redden from the film. Next to his picture was one of Joe Biden, the resemblance of these two is unreal. Anyways, Billy is a good actor & can play a mean Banjo. I can’t say anything good about Joe , so I won’t say anything at all.
May 3, 2024 @ 6:26 am
Met Billy at his work after trying three times. Nice fella. Got a picture with him.