Eric Weissberg, who died on March 21, was one of the great urban Bluegrass instrumentalists of his, or any other, generation. Born in Brooklyn, he attended the University of Wisconsin and Julliard, learning about Bluegrass from musicians in Washington Square. He became famous for playing "Dueling Banjos" in the film Deliverance -- in fact, the duel was between Weissberg's banjo and Steve Mandell's guitar -- which was the first Bluegrass instrumental to reach as high as number two on the Billboard pop chart. Weissberg was not only a banjo player. He also excelled on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. He performed with The Tarriers, The Greenbriar Boys, and (after the movie) Deliverance, and he was also one of the most important session musicians in New York, playing on cuts with Judy Collins, John Denver, Bob Dylan, and Billy Joel. My first introduction to him was in the early 1960s, when he was the accompanist on "Cisco Houston Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie." I have not been able to find much video of Weissberg, but here is what I located:
Dueling Banjos:
On fiddle, with the Greenbriar Boys:
I couldn't find a video of Weissberg playing mandolin, but here he is accompanying Cisco Houston (audio only); listen for the breaks:
On guitar:
Banjo Medley:
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