60 Years of Lessons Learned with Ronnie Reno

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I have had the honor of knowing and admiring the work of Bluegrass personality Ronnie Reno for much of my own career.

I was honored to appear on his popular TV Show “Reno’s Old Time Music Festival” many years ago. As an award-winning television producer, his show was the first nationally broadcast show featuring Bluegrass music, earning him a prestigious Cable Ace nomination and the nickname the Dick Clark of bluegrass.
His new show, “Reno’s Old Time Music,” airs in prime time on Saturday nights on RFD-TV with 1.2 million monthly viewers.

onnie is celebrating 60 years in entertainment with the release of his new album, LESSONS LEARNED. It is Reno’s first album in nearly a decade and his debut album on Rural Rhythm Records. Reno’s singer/songwriting talents really shine on this 11-song album containing 9 songs penned by Reno. Among the titles are Lower Than Lonesome, Lessons Learned, I Think Of You, Sweet Rosa Lee, Deep Part Of Your Heart, Reno’s Mando Magic, Reno & Smiley classic Trail Of Sorrow, All That’s Worth Remembering, Our Last Goodbye, Bad News At Home, and the Lefty Frizzell classic Always Late with David Frizzell. Each song tells a story about life, love and relationships that pull from his rich experiences as an artist, songwriter and TV host.

The CD features the Reno Tradition including Mike Scott – banjo; Heath Van Winkle – bass; John Maberry – mandolin; and Steve Day – fiddle, Ronnie’s current band and the house band on his TV show. Reno’s warm passionate vocals are combined with harmony vocals by Heath Van Winkle and award-winning vocalist Sonya Isaacs.

Over the past 60 years, Reno has had one of the most colorful, diverse and distinguished careers in the music industry — the lineage of which is a study of both traditional country and bluegrass music history. His musical talents have provided the foundation for a long list of seminal performers in both genres, including Reno & Smiley, the Osborne Brothers, Merle Haggard, the Reno Brothers, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and many others. As a songwriter, his music was cut by artists such as Vassar Clements, Sammi Smith and Merle Haggard, and his song “Boogie Grass Band” was a pivotal #1 smash hit for Conway Twitty.

I encourage you to learn more about Ronnie by ordering some of his music or watching his television show. Visit RonnieReno.com to learn more.