"Dueling Banjos" Songwriter Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith Dies at 93

He died April 4th. Most folks probably never heard of Arthur Smith, but his music was known world-wide.

Instrumental Hit Featured in Film Deliverance; Beatles Influence​

Nashville, Tenn., producer and musician Tim Smith remembers mentioning his famous uncle to Paul McCartney in London around 1982. At the time, Tim Smith was performing and recording with Joe English, former drummer for McCartney’s band Wings.

“I told him my father was a great musician and that my uncle was Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith,” Tim Smith recalled. “He (McCartney) didn’t say a word. He just walked over to a road case in his studio and opened it up. It had slots like an old record store counter and was full of 45s. He thumbed through and pulled out a 45 of ‘Guitar Boogie’ from the ’50s and told me it was one of his very favorite records. He wanted to know all about Arthur. It was a great moment.”​

The BBC had a writeup about his passing too...

Country guitarist Arthur Smith dies​