Last month we took a look at the earliest examples of flatpicking guitar music by examining the rhythm work of Riley Puckett, Roy Harvey and Charlie Monroe plus lead examples from Jimmie Rodgers and Maybelle Carter. These were some of the great guitarists who were laying the foundation of rhythm and lead work that would later influence the "Father of Flatpicking" Doc Watson.

Before we move on to discuss Doc Watson and his contemporaries- Clarence White, Dan Crary, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, and others- there are a few more pioneers who we should examine. In this article we are going to take a look at the lead guitar styles of the Delmore Brothers, George Shuffler, and Don Reno and examine the rhythm work of a few of the early bluegrass guitar players, namely Lester Flatt, Red Smiley, and Jimmy Martin.

Alton and Rabon Delmore, performing as The Delmore Brothers, were one of the most influential performing acts in early country music and beyond. Their later material in the late 1940s even helped launch the rockabilly movement in the 1950s that would lead to the birth of rock & roll. Although they are not as well-known as other performers of their era-like Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, or Bob Wills-the Delmore Brothers were every bit as important in the history of country music and definitely have a strong place in the history of flatpicking.

The Delmores of Elkmont, Alabama began performing together in the late 1920s and auditioned for Columbia in 1931 when Alton was 23 and his younger brother Rabon was just 15. In 1932 they got a job performing on WSM in Nashville, Tennessee, and played on the Grand Ole Opry from 1932 through 1938. Their vocal harmonies, strong guitar work and popular original compositions made them one of WSM's favorite acts. Many of their songs, like "Browns Ferry Blues", "I'm Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar", "Nashville Blues", "Blue Railroad Train", "Blues Stay Away From Me", and "Freight Train Boogie" have become country music classics. Several of the Delmores' songs have long been a part of Doc Watson's repertoire and they had a big cross-over hit in "Beautiful Brown Eyes".

Through the first 15 years of their career, the Delmores performed as a duo with Alton usually singing lead and Rabon adding the harmony. Their music always had a touch of the blues, which probably accounts for its longevity. Unlike other "brother acts" of the era, like the Monroe Brothers or the Blue Sky Boys whose instrumentation consisted of a mandolin and guitar, the Delmores both played guitars. Instead of a standard six-string, however, Rabon played a tenor guitar in order to provide a different rhythmic voice. Alton Delmore did the lead work on his 6-string guitar and helped define the lead guitar style that was prominent in that era.

In 1946 Alton and Rabon added a full backup band to their act, including bass, mandolin, steel guitar, fiddle, and harmonica. A short while later, electric guitars and drums were also added. During the mid-1940s swing music was sweeping the country, both the big band and Western styles, and the Delmores jumped on that wagon by releasing a series of hard-driving boogie-woogie tunes that included a bluesy structure and a hard-driving back beat. "Freight Train Boogie" was one of the most popular among these boogie tunes which also included "Hillbilly Boogie", "Barnyard Boogie", "Downhome Boogie", "Mobile Boogie", "Steamboat Bill Boogie", and "Pan American Boogie". "Freight Train Boogie" reached #2 on the charts for the Delmore Brothers in 1946 and has been recorded by Reno & Smiley, Red Foley, The Maddox Brothers and Rose, and even John Denver.

Alton Delmore's lead guitar style in the early years was what George Shuffler called "the quick-wrist mandolin style" whereby any long spaces between melody notes were filled in by repeating the melody note in an eighth-note tremolo fashion. The style also included hard-driving quarter-note runs, double-stops, and chordal strums used as accents to provide a strong dynamic range. This style of lead playing carried over into the boogie-woogie era with the boogie beat added along with the kind of extended guitar solos that would lead into the rock & roll era. Unfortunately, the Delmore Brothers' career ended when Rabon died of lung cancer in 1952. Alton continued to record gospel and rockabilly as a solo act, but in 1964 he also passed away.

Below I have provided two examples of the Delmore lead guitar style. The first is a loose transcription of a guitar solo from "Bury Me Beneath the Willow". (I basically listened to what they were doing and then came up with my own arrangement based on their technique; i.e., I did not transcribe Alton's solo note-for-note.) This arrangement will give you a good idea of how this early flatpicking style sounded. It is a very interesting and worth-while style to study for a beginning flatpicker because the technique is simple and strongly based on the melody. For a player who has just started to learn single-string lead solos, it is a good stepping stone to bridge the gap between rhythm playing, or Carter-style lead, to the single-note flatpicking style as the repeated tremolo on the melody note helps one adapt to the alternating pick direction right-hand technique without having to change strings or move the left hand.

The next example I'll cite is an arrangement of "Freight Train Boogie" by Don Reno's son Ronnie Reno. This arrangement will give you a feel for the Delmores' boogie era, which was also an era that saw the rise of another flatpicking pioneer, Hank Snow. The boogie-woogie era of flatpicking's history is often overlooked by most flatpickers today, but it, like much of the Delmores' material, is well worth examination and study. These techniques were the building blocks that led to modern flatpicking.

[Editor’s note: Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to include Ronnie Reno’s arrangement of "Freight Train Boogie" in this article. Readers can find the arrangement in Volume 6, Number 4 of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, May/June 2002. Copies can be obtained from the author at: http://flatpickingmercantile.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=fs31&Product_Code=2019]

During the first fifteen to twenty years of bluegrass music history the guitar's role in the band was rhythm accompaniment. While there were a few guitar players taking solos here and there, the guitar did not begin to truly find its lead voice in bluegrass until the mid-to-late 1960s. While there are many early bluegrass rhythm guitar players worthy of study, three of the most prominent were Lester Flatt, Red Smiley, and Jimmy Martin.

Lester Flatt was the guitar player for the configuration of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys that has been historically recognized as the original bluegrass band. That band featured Bill Monroe on mandolin, Lester Flatt on guitar, Earl Scruggs on the banjo, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Cedric Rainwater on bass. The band first came together in 1945 and lasted in that configuration until 1947 when Earl and Lester left the band to form Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.

Although Lester Flatt played the guitar with a thumbpick and thus, like Maybelle Carter, was not technically a flatpicker, his rhythm style did influence countless bluegrass guitar pickers who would come after him, especially his Flatt G-run (See rest stroke Example #1 below). Because Flatt used a thumbpick he did not play upstrokes on the bass runs. The sound of his successive down-strokes with the thumbpick is replicated by flatpickers with the use of a "rest stroke". In 1997 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine printed an article on rest strokes by Joe Carr. A segment of that article, and examples, are reprinted below.

Here is what Joe Carr has said about the flatpicking rest stroke:

Alternating picking is so important to flatpicking guitar styles that there is little discussion of the equally important "rest stroke" which employs consecutive down strokes. The rest stroke is used primarily to articulate bass runs, particularly in the key of G. Bass runs played in this manner literally jump out of the guitar. The licks are much louder than those picked up and down. Once you are comfortable with this technique, try the following exercises with alternating pick strokes. You'll quickly be convinced the rest stroke is superior. Tony Rice and Clarence White are just two of the many flatpickers who use this technique.

To perform the rest stroke, place your pick on the sixth string and fret it at the third fret. Angle the pick so that you are pushing down towards the guitar top at about a 45-degree angle rather than parallel to the top. Push through the sixth string with the pick until it comes to rest against the fifth string. If you do it right, the sixth string "G" note will sound and your pick will be on the fifth string - all in one fluid motion.

Now try Exercise 1 using all down-strokes. The rest stroke occurs at the end of the first measure. Place the pick on the fourth string (second fret) and push through to the third string. This abbreviated G run is useful at high speeds once you get the hang of it. In Exercise 2, the rest stroke covers three strings. Begin the rest stroke at the third fret of the fifth string (C note). Slide to the fourth fret with your left hand while your pick moves to rest on the fourth string. Then continue downward, picking the fourth and third strings.

Lick 3 is the classic "G Run" of bluegrass played with four consecutive rest strokes. This is the secret of an authentic, great sounding "G Run."

Lick 4 is another abbreviation of lick three with a slide and a hammer-on. Lick 5 presents the rest stroke in D. At first, you may find that the pick moves too quickly though the strings and that the lick happens too fast for the tempo of your song. If so, increase the angle of the pick towards the guitar top to increase the resistance and slow the pick. If you are not currently using this technique, start now! Your friends will be blown away when these powerful licks come blasting out of your guitar.

In the same issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine that Joe Carr wrote about rest strokes he also included a short study of Jimmy Martin's guitar style. Here is an excerpt from that article:

Jimmy Martin began his professional bluegrass music career with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys in the late 1940s. He later performed with the Osborne Brothers before forming his own Sunny Mountain Boys in the 1950s. He was inducted into the IBMA hall of fame in 1995.

Martin is known for his strong rhythm guitar style and his equally strong opinions about how his music should be played. For clarity, I have not notated Martin's strumming patterns which are very active and varied. Below are some examples of rhythm patterns he uses. The song arrangements are not exact transcriptions, but a compilation of Martin's ideas. Listen to the recordings to get the feel.

"Sweet Dixie" in the key of D, features Bill Emerson's great banjo playing and is a showcase for several of Martin's favorite licks. There are several opportunities to use your new rest stroke. Part A of this arrangement features the basic alternating bass-strum pattern. Part B gets more interesting. Be sure to "rest" on beat one of measure 9. You could try picking this lick two ways: 1.) with rest strokes and hammer-ons and 2.) with consecutive down picks and a rest stroke at the end of measure 9.

Measures 11 and 12 include a great rest-stroke lick. Notice you must make the stroke at two speeds; 1/4 note to 1/8 note and 1/4 note to 1/4 note. Stop the C note (third fret, fifth string) from ringing as soon as you play the open fourth string. In other words, do not allow these two notes to ring together. To do this, lift the fretting finger, but leave it on the string. In measure 13, wait one beat and play the same rest-stoke pattern. "I'm Coming Back . . ." has some fun key of G licks. Notice the "D" lick in measure 4 that anticipates the chord by two beats. Measure 12 contains a great bluesy phrase.

Red Smiley is another bluegrass rhythm player who Joe Carr covered in a series of rhythm guitar articles that has written for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. In the March/April 1998 issue Joe had this to say about Red Smiley and his rhythm guitar work:

Guitarist/singer Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley is best known as half of the seminal bluegrass duo Reno and Smiley. While Don Reno is heralded as an early innovator of bluegrass banjo, Smiley has undeservedly received less acclaim. His recorded legacy as a guitarist and singer, however, is very interesting to students of acoustic rhythm guitar styles.

Don Reno and Red Smiley formed their group in the late 1940s and by the early 1950s they were enjoying success with hit records including "I Know You're Married but I Love You Still," and "I'm Using My Bible for a Roadmap," and appearing on the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond, Virginia and a daily television program in Roanoke. Their close vocal harmonies, dazzling instrumental work and energetic stage show made the group a popular favorite among old-time country and bluegrass music fans.

Due to illness, Smiley retired from full-time playing in 1964. He performed and recorded periodically until his death in 1972. Never as popular or well-known as Bill Monroe or Flatt and Scruggs, Reno and Smiley sometimes seem a forgotten chapter in bluegrass music history. However, many of their recordings for the King label are still available in various formats and the music is well worth a listen. Look for budget cassettes of their music in large truck stops. A boxed set of their recordings is also available.

Smiley begins the verse with a standard alternating bass/strum pattern. He fingers all six strings of the C chord in measure 4 allowing full strums. In measures 7-8, use all down-strokes and a rest stroke at the end of measure 7. In measure 21, notice the use of the "long" A chord. Measures 23-24 can be replaced by the D lick in the indicated alternate measures.

In measure 4, Smiley uses his left hand thumb to fret the F# note at the second fret of the sixth string. He frets the last note in this measure ("B" second fret, fifth string) with his first finger. Although these notes would usually be fretted with the first finger, you thumb-wrappers out there (you know who you are) might like to try this lick "Smiley style". Remember the judges give 10 points for show! The lick occurs again in measure 12.

The final staff contains the last line of the song. The rest stroke lick in the last two measures is a great ending phrase for any song in D position.

Best known in bluegrass as a banjo player, Don Reno was probably the first guitar player in bluegrass music to flatpick fiddle tunes. He is also the first bluegrass player to produce a bluegrass recording that was centered on lead guitar when he and Red Smiley recorded "Country Boy Rock and Roll" back in 1956. Dan Crary likes to say that the first flatpicking song recorded in bluegrass music was performed by a banjo player picking a rock and roll song! In the July/August issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine we ran an article submitted by Rob Bulkley based on an interview he conducted with Don Reno's son Don Wayne Reno. In the introduction to his article, Bulkely wrote a bit about Don Reno's background:

Don Reno (1927-1984) is best known for his banjo style, his prolific songwriting, and the classic band he fronted with Red Smiley. Less well-known is that fact that he was a child prodigy who got his first guitar when he was eight, had a radio show playing guitar and harmonica at age twelve, and was a trendsetting bluegrass flatpicker, writing tunes and songs featuring his propulsive lead guitar style, including the classic "Country Boy Rock 'n Roll".

Reno's playing style incorporated a strong melodic sense, flashy runs, jazzy chord solos, harmonized scales, and effects such as sliding down the fingerboard, "zooming" from a high note to a low. The recent release of The Golden Guitar of Don Reno on King has sparked new interest in his guitar prowess. Don's youngest son Don Wayne Reno performs with his brothers Ronnie and Dale as The Reno Brothers, keeping their dad's sound alive along with their own original music.

In the FGM article Rob asked Don Wayne a number of questions about his father's guitar playing, I will reprint a couple of them here:

How did he come up with his style of playing?
I think that came more or less just from playing electric guitar. When he was thirteen he took a bus to Atlanta and played on Jack Guthrie's Oklahoma Hills. I think he evolved that flatpicking style that he does from picking the electric guitar, and then playing the fiddle tunes with Tommy Magness (one of Bill Monroe's early fiddle players), trying to figure out the notes on the guitar. Tommy basically showed him how to play rhythm. He told me that Tommy got to where he wouldn't hardly pick unless Dad was playing with him. And he learned a lot of those old fiddle tunes and started flatpicking. A lot of the banjo playing style actually came from the guitar.

So this would make him one of the first to play fiddle tunes on the guitar.
Doc Watson says Dad was the first person he ever heard flatpick a guitar bluegrass-style. I've got written documentation of that. They picked a lot together down through the years, too. There are some live tapes of that around.

Below is a transcription of Don Reno's arrangement of the fiddle standard "Gray Eagle".

George Shuffler's lead guitar work with the Stanley Brothers in the 1950s is historically significant because George was perhaps the first guitar player who was regularly featured as a soloist in a bluegrass band. Additionally, the "crosspicking" technique that George often used when executing his solos is a technique that has been employed by almost every flatpicker since George's introduction of the technique on guitar during those early Stanley Brothers performances and recordings.

Shuffler was born and raised in Valdese, North Carolina. His first professional job was performing with the Bailey Brothers in Nashville when he was just seventeen years old. After leaving the Bailey Brothers and subsequently working with several other bands, George eventually got a call from Carter Stanley in December 1950 and was asked to join the Stanley Brothers band. The Stanley Brothers had begun to use a guitar player on the show at the suggestion of producer Sid Nathan. When asked about the Stanley's use of a lead guitar player in those early days, George Shuffler said, "Sid Nathan liked the Delmore Brothers and said that they had made a good showing, so he suggested we use some guitar. Bill Napier was the Stanley's mandolin player at the time and he did that first album with them on lead guitar and I played bass on it. He done that "Old Mountain Dew" with quick-wrist mandolin licks on the guitar and that is what Carter wanted me to play when I took over on guitar, but I wouldn't do it because that didn't fit the guitar as far as I was concerned.

When asked about how he developed his crosspicking style, George said, "When we went out a lot of times it was just the three of us, Ralph, Carter, and myself. Back then all there was on lead guitar was Maybelle Carter and Merle Travis, and neither one of those styles fit what the Stanleys sang. They sang those slow, mournful mountain songs with long dwells at the end of a line. That crosspicking roll filled in when they stopped to swallow and get their breath. Little single-string stuff just wouldn't fill it in. The crosspicking roll would make it full and solid. Since it was just the three of us, God knows we needed all the help we could get. We had to make every lick count."

Below is an example of George Shuffler's crosspicking technique as applied to the song, "Bury Me Beneath the Willow". Note that while many flatpickers alternate the direction of the pick strokes when they are crosspicking, George has always played two down-strokes followed by one upstroke as indicated in the tablature. When asked if this is the pattern he has always used, George said,

Yes. That is the only way you can do it. There was another fella that did it a little different, but there was a jump, or a lope, in it. It wasn't solid. When you go "two down and one up" it is just as solid as a rock. The main thing is that you try to keep ahead on your chord progressions when you are going to change because you've got to break your lick. I've learned to change the chord and just keep rolling.

While this two-part article on the pioneers of flatpicking has examined a number of the early steel-string guitar players from the old-time, bluegrass, and early country musical traditions, there are many others from these genres that could also have been included, such as Doc Addington, Edd Mayfield, Hank Garland, Arthur Smith, and Hank Snow. There are also many great players from the genre of Western swing, such as Sleepy Johnson, Derwood Brown, and Herman Arnspiger, and Junior Barnard who we have not talked about, but are worth exploring. Then there are also the great early jazz guitar players like Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Nick Lucas, Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian, and others who have influenced modern-day flatpickers. All of these individuals are worth checking out for anyone who is interested in swing or jazz style flatpicking.

Now that we have laid a solid foundation by examining many of the early pioneers, the next installment of this series will move on to take a look at the main players of the "heroes" era: Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Clarence White, Tony Rice, and Dan Crary.