Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs (* January 6, 1924 in Shelby, North Carolina, † March 28, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee) was an American bluegrass musician. Scruggs was considered a virtuoso on the banjo and played a crucial role in the development of bluegrass.
- 3.1 Singles
- 3.2 albums
Life
Childhood and youth
Earl Scruggs began at the age of four years to play banjo and developed under the influence of " Smith " Snuffy Jenkins Hammett and a novel style, which revolutionized the way of playing the banjo and is now standard for most bluegrass Banjoisten. Scruggs father, a farmer and an accountant, played fiddle and banjo. He died after a long illness, as Scruggs was four years old. Earl Scruggs siblings also all played an instrument.
Career start
Scruggs began his career in 1945 with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. It replaced the old-time banjo player Dave " Stringbean " Akeman, who played in the Clawhammer and Frailing style and Monroe had left in September 1945. With Scruggs, the band's music has quickly developed into what was later called bluegrass. On stage Monroe Scruggs raised always generated with the words " Earl Scruggs with his fancy banjo ". With regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry at the transmitter WSM in Nashville Scruggs increased awareness. In 1948, Scruggs parted with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, what personal and commercial reasons had.
Flatt and Scruggs
Together with guitarist Lester Flatt, he founded the duo Flatt and Scruggs. The two had met at the Blue Grass Boys in 1948 and also joined Flatt left the band. The sales figures by Flatt and Scruggs were together with their band, the Foggy Mountain Boys, the most successful bluegrass artists in the United States. Her performances have taken her across the U.S., and they were a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the Tennessee Barn Dance in Knoxville and the Louisiana Hayride. Her biggest hit was the Foggy Mountain Breakdown, the later theme song for the film Bonnie and Clyde. A not familiar with bluegrass audience were known by the theme song of the television series The Beverly Hillbillies Flatt and Scruggs; they also had guest appearances on the show.
Scruggs broke up in 1969 by Lester Flatt to operate from the 1970s, with his three sons, the Earl Scruggs Revue. The band was a pioneer in the electrification of acoustic bluegrass, enriched by the music with drums and electric bass and provided them with elements of new music.
Awards
Over the years, Scruggs has received many awards: In 1991 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 2002 in the America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame. At the Grammy Awards 2008 Scruggs was awarded the " Lifetime Achievement Award " for his musical life's work.
Discography
The Flatt & Scruggs Discography of Flatt & Scruggs see.