Like many banjo players in the early ‘50s, Earl Scruggs’ banjo playing set Raymond Fairchild on fire. But unlike so many others, Raymond did not own a record player or much less have the electricity to run one. He had to rely on his memory to hold the tunes and his creativity to create new ones. As Raymond explained his style, “A lot of it came from not getting to hear nobody. You’d hear parts of a tune, and that’s as much of it as you’d get. You’d have to pick out the rest of it in your mind. My style is just something I came up with, something I had to do.”

He first used the banjo to earn a living in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, where he played for tourists on the steps of the Hillbilly Campground; Raymond played practically from dawn until midnight, seven nights a week for over twelve years. As his style on the banjo became more inventive, his reputation spread. It soon caught the attention of a young banjo player from Western North Carolina, Marc Pruett. Despite a heavy schedule of performing, recording and teaching, Pruett started a record label he called Skyline Records. Among the first artists he signed was Raymond Fairchild. His first project, recorded in 1984, was titled Little Zane. Unobtainable for several years it is now available on CD and cassette with a new mix direct from the multi-track session tapes.

The choice of material on this project is pure Raymond. Included are traditional mountain tunes like his show-stopping signature tune “Whoa Mule,” plus tunes from the early days of old-time country music such as “The Old Spinning Wheel,” “Orange Blossom Special,” and the Delmore Brothers’ “Blues Stay Away from Me.” Raymond’s sense of adventure is evident when he tackles such pop tunes as “Yakety Sax,” “Beer Barrel Polka,” “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise,” and the country standard “Steel Guitar Rag.” He also plays the fire out of “Mocking Banjo” from Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith of nearby Charlotte, North Carolina. Finally, Raymond picks several of his own compositions, “Little Zane,” “Leavin’ Out,” and “Crossin’ The Smokies.”

Listen. You can hear his banjo smoke.