Buck Trent

Buck Trent, master banjo player and guitarist died October 9, 2023. He was 85 years old. 

Born Charles William Trent in Spartanburg, SC, he was exposed to music at a young age, first picking up the guitar at the age of seven. From there he learned to play everything from the dobro to the mandolin, and notably the 5-string banjo.  

When Trent moved to Nashville in 1959, he joined the road show of Opry Member Bill Carlisle. He also played briefly with Bill Monroe before moving on to play with Porter Wagoner’s road show, which included Dolly Parton at the time. He would go on to play on all of the hit duets with Wagoner and Parton in addition to all of Parton’s solo recordings. In fact, the iconic guitar riffs in “Jolene” can be credited to Trent. 

After playing for the Porter Wagoner Show for 11 years, Trent eventually joined the cast of Hee Haw which he remained apart of for 19 years. Throughout his career he recorded 15 solo albums, played on albums for Parton, Wagoner, Roy Clark, Norma Jean, Nancy Sinatra, Mac Wiseman and many others.