Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs brought to the five-string banjo the same transformative command that Paganini once exercised over the violin. Alongside Lester Flatt, first in the Foggy Mountain Boys and subsequently in Flatt & Scruggs, he forged the core sound of bluegrass while steadily elevating the genre’s national profile through radio broadcasts, studio recordings, television slots, and live performances. In the 1940s the ensemble introduced “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” a piece that quickly entered the bluegrass repertoire; during the 1950s and 1960s the act stood as the style’s most prominent presence, appearing regularly on television screens. Their commercial high point arrived in 1962 when they cut the theme for the sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. Released as “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” the track reached the top of the charts in early 1963, becoming the first bluegrass single to achieve that position, and the pair made several guest appearances on the program itself.

By the close of the 1960s Scruggs sought to broaden the group’s musical range, urging Flatt to record Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” in 1968 and to book dates in halls more accustomed to rock & roll bills. Flatt, however, preferred to stay within established bluegrass boundaries. The tension between these visions culminated in a 1969 split. Flatt promptly organized the traditional-minded Nashville Grass, whereas Scruggs launched the forward-looking Earl Scruggs Revue, featuring his two sons.

The Revue drew a younger, city-based following and, aided by dobroist Josh Graves, ventured into rock and other idioms outside country music. Plans for a Flatt & Scruggs reunion album were under discussion by the late 1970s, yet they collapsed when Flatt died on May 11, 1979. After the separation Scruggs continued to record extensively; notable later projects include the 1982 duet effort The Storyteller and the Banjo Man with Tom T. Hall and the 2001 all-star collection Earl Scruggs and Friends, which enlisted Johnny Cash, Elton John, Sting, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, Leon Russell, and Steve Martin. He maintained a visible presence on television through periodic reunion performances. In 2012 Scruggs passed away in Nashville at the age of 88.