Dead:
Arthur Smith, a country musician known for the hit âGuitar Boogieâ and for âFeuding Banjos,â a bluegrass tune that became âDueling Banjosâ in the film âDeliverance,â died on Thursday at his home in Charlotte, N.C. He was 93... [A] version of âDueling Banjosâ appeared as a deceptively amiable musical duel in âDeliverance,â the 1972 film starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds. Mr. Smith was not credited as the writer and filed suit against Warner Brothers after a version of the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart in 1973. The studio offered a $15,000 settlement but Mr. Smith wanted to go to trial. The judge ruled in his favor. âHe recouped all past royalties and all future royalties, and the credit was changedâ to show he had written the song.