Dueling Banjos was made famous by the 1972 film "Deliverance," which also led to a successful lawsuit by the song's composer, as it was used in the film without Smith's permission. The film version was arranged and recorded by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell, but only credited to Weissberg on a single subsequently issued in December 1972. It went to #2 for four weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1973, all four weeks behind Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks the same year. It reached #1 for one week on
Duelling pistol opponents, extreme accuracy was not required. Duelling pistols had long barrels - typically around and fired large, heavy bullets. Pistols with calibers of , , or even were common. The bullets loaded in them could weigh in .52 caliber, or more in larger calibers. Bullets were fired with a muzzle velocity of approximately , which made a .52 caliber bullet about as lethal as a current .45 ACP round - and therefore capable of inflicting very severe wounds. These injuries, coupled with the primitive state of emergency medicine at the time when duels were commonplace, meant that pistol duels frequently