A circa 1965 photo of Don Reno & the Tennessee Cut-Ups when Chuck Haney was a member of the band. From left to right: Chuck Haney, Ronnie Reno, Don Reno, Duck Austin, Jean Reno, and Ray Crisp.
Notes & Queries – January 2025
Q - I have a question for you about Don Reno’s two cousins “Chuck” and “Jay” Haney. Are they still living? If not, any idea when they passed away? Apparently, there’s not much mentioned about them in bluegrass, at least not that I’m aware of . . . besides being on the early recordings of Reno & Smiley. Just wondered whatever happened to them. Wayne Hoffman, via email.
A - There were actually a number of Haneys who were associated with Don Reno over the years. In addition to Chuck and Jay, there were at least three others: Bill Haney, Walter Haney, and Jarvis Haney. Ronnie Reno noted recently that “the Haney’s were a family around Buffalo and Union [South Carolina] and most of them played music.”
Charles Edward “Chuck” Haney (February 14, 1934 - October 19, 1998) probably logged more time with Reno than any of the other Haneys. In 1992, as I was working on compiling a 4-CD set of Reno & Smiley’s earliest recordings (still available, by the way), I
