Eric Weissberg And Steve Mandell - Songs

ABOUT

Eric Weissberg (August 16, 1939 - March 22, 2020) and Steve Mandell (ca. 1941 - March 14, 2018) were highly acclaimed bluegrass musicians who, as a performing duo, became famous for the instrumental smash, "Dueling Banjos" (1973), as featured in the 1972 thriller, "Deliverance," co-starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight. Originally titled "Feudin' Banjos," this bluegrass classic was written in 1954 by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith who recorded it the following year.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Eric Weissberg attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Juilliard School of Music and by the late 1950s, he had become a regular performer at Washington Square Park in New York City's Greenwich Village. From 1958-1959, he played with The Greenbriar Boys before joining The Tarriers as a singer, fiddler, guitarist, mandolinist, and banjo player. By the mid 1960s, Weissberg had become a prolific session musician with a career spanning many decades. He can be heard on numerous recordings by Tom Paxton, with whom he often toured, as well as Judy Collins, Jim Croce, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Frankie Valli, and many other performing artists.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, New York, Steve Mandell began playing the guitar at age 12, later switching to banjo in his teens. As with Weissberg, he had also become a regular performer at Washington Square Park during the late 1950s. In the early 1960s, Mandell co-founded the Garrett Mountain Boys and began touring and recording with Judy Collins as part of her band through the mid 1970s. Over his long career, he also worked with such artists as John Denver, Tom Paxton, and Lou Reed. Mandell also recorded commercial jingles and appeared in the 1976 Broadway musical, "The Robber Bridegroom."

In 1972, Weissberg and Mandell recorded "Dueling Banjos," with Weissberg on banjo and Mandell on guitar, which became the theme to "Deliverance." The following year, this smash topped the Adult Contemporary, Cash Box, and Record World charts, reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and made the Country Top 5. "Dueling Banjos" won a Grammy in 1974 for Best Country Instrumental Performance and was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Weissberg and Mandell also recorded an album by the same on Warner Brothers which topped the Billboard 200 in 1973.

Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell had only one other charting song with their sung rendition of The Coasters' "Yakety Yak" (credited to Eric Weissberg & Deliverance), which became a minor hit in 1975 on the Country charts.

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SONGS

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Eric Weissberg And Steve Mandell

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