Earl Eugene Scruggs ( January 6, 1924 - March 28, 2012 [1] ) is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing the three-finger style of bluegrass music, known as the “Scruggs style,” which defines the quality of this music. Although other artists used the three-finger style earlier, Scruggs stood out immediately after Bill Monroe invited him to play the banjo in his band The Blue Grass Boys.
| Earl Scruggs Earl scruggs | |
|---|---|
 Scruggs in 2005 | |
| basic information | |
| Date of Birth | January 6, 1924 |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | March 28, 2012 (88 years old) |
| Place of death | |
| Buried | |
| A country |  USA |
| Professions | musician |
| Instruments | |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
| Awards | US National Medal of Arts Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ( 2008 ) |
| earlscruggs.com | |
Content
Early life and career
Scruggs was born in Shelby, North Carolina . [2] He grew up in Cleveland County of the same state. [3]
Scruggs appeared in the band “The Blue Grass Boys” at the end of 1945 and quickly popularized his three-finger style of bluegrass music.
In 1948, he and Bill Monroe left guitar band Lester Flatt to form the Foggy Mountain Boys , later known simply as “Flatt and Scruggs.” In 1969, they tore up, and Scruggs formed the new ensemble “the Earl Scruggs Revue”, performing several of his songs. On September 24, 1962, singer Jerry Scoggins , as well as Lester Flatt and Scruggs recorded The Ballad of Jed Clampett for the television show " The Beverly Hillbillies . This theme song immediately became a hit country music and was performed at the beginning and end of each episode. Flatt and Scruggs appeared in several episodes, performing a theme song and "Pearl Pearl Pearl".
On November 15, 1969, Scruggs performed his Foggy Mountain Breakdown [4] , which won a Grammy Award , on an open-air stage in Washington , DC, on the Moratorium, towards the end of the Vietnam War. He became one of the few Western performers of Bluegrass and country who supported the anti-war movement. [5] In an interview after the concert, Scruggs said: [6]
I believe that people in the South are as concerned as those walking along these streets today ... I am sincere about returning our guys home. I resent and mourn the guys we lost there [in Vietnam]. And if I did not see a good reason to continue, I would not be here today.
Rewards
In 1969, Flatt and Scruggs won the Grammy Award for Foggy Mountain Breakdown [4] . In 1985, both ended up in the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1989, Scruggs became a member of the National Heritage Fellowship for his services to American music. In 1992, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
In 2002, Scruggs won a second Grammy Award . On September 13, 2003, Scruggs received a star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame. In the same year, he and Flatt were number 24 among the 40 greatest country music performers.
Death
Scruggs died on March 28, 2012 at a Nashville hospital from natural causes. [7] [8]
Legacy
The famous banjo singer Bela Fleck named Earl Scruggs among the people who influenced him. [9] , and stated that Scruggs is “definitely the best” performer of his three-finger banjo style. [ten]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Single | Chart Place | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country USA | USA | US heat | Bluegrass USA | ||
| 1967 | Strictly Instrumental (with Lester Flatt and Doc Watson ) | ||||
| 1967 | 5 String Banjo Instruction Album | ||||
| 1968 | The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys ) [11] | ||||
| 1969 | Changin 'times | ||||
| 1970 | Nashville airplane | ||||
| 1972 | I Saw the Light with Some Help from My Friends | ||||
| Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends | |||||
| Live at kansas state | 20 | 204 | |||
| 1973 | Rockin '' Cross the Country | 46 | |||
| Dueling banjos | 202 | ||||
| The Earl Scruggs Revue | 169 | ||||
| 1975 | Anniversary Special | 104 | |||
| 1976 | The Earl Scruggs Revue 2 | 161 | |||
| Family portrait | 49 | ||||
| 1977 | Live from Austin City Limits | 49 | |||
| Strike anywhere | |||||
| 1978 | Bold & new | 50 | |||
| 1979 | Today & Forever | ||||
| 1982 | Storyteller and the Banjo Man (with Tom T. Hall ) | ||||
| Flatt & scruggs | |||||
| 1983 | Top of the world | ||||
| 1984 | Superjammin ' | ||||
| 1998 | Artist's Choice: The Best Tracks (1970-1980) | ||||
| 2001 | Earl Scruggs and Friends | 39 | 33 | 14 | |
| 2002 | Classic Bluegrass Live: 1959-1966 | ||||
| 2003 | Three Pickers (with Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs ) | 24 | 179 | 2 | |
| 2004 | The Essential Earl Scruggs | ||||
| 2005 | Live with Donnie Allen and Friends | ||||
| 2007 | Lifetimes: Lewis, Scruggs, and Long | ||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Place | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country USA | CAN Country | |||
| 1970 | "Nashville Skyline Rag" | 74 | - | Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends |
| 1979 | "I Sure Could Use the Feeling" | thirty | 41 | Single only |
| "Play Me No Sad Songs" | 82 | 66 | Today & Forever | |
| 1980 | " Blue Moon of Kentucky " | 46 | - | |
| 1982 | "There Ain't No Country Music on This Jukebox" (with Tom T. Hall ) | 77 | - | Storyteller and the Banjo Man |
| Song of the South (with Tom T. Hall) | 72 | - | ||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "The Dirt Road" (with Sawyer Brown ) | Michael salomon |
| 2001 | Foggy Mountain Breakdown (Earl Scruggs and Friends) | Gerry wenner |
DVD
- Earl Scruggs– His Family and Friends (2005)
- (Recorded 1969. Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Bill Monroe, Joan Baez et al.)
- Private Sessions (2005)
- The Bluegrass Legend (2006)
Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs
- The Three Pickers (2003)
Flatt and scruggs
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 1 (2007)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 2 (2007)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 3 (2007)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 4 (2007)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 5 (2008)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 6 (2008)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 7 (2009)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 8 (2009)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 9 (2010)
- The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 10 (2010)
Notes
- ↑ Associated Press. Son: Bluegrass legend, banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs dies in Nashville at age 88; changed music . The Washington Post. Date of treatment March 28, 2012.
- ↑ Reitwiesner, William Addams Ancestry of Earl Scruggs . William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services. Date of treatment July 14, 2009. Archived on October 5, 2012.
- ↑ Earl Scruggs Biography . Earlscruggs.com. Date of treatment March 28, 2012. Archived October 5, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Steve Martin & Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown - YouTube
- ↑ Earl Scruggs Performs At Anti War Demonstration . Youtube.com (July 13, 2009). Date of treatment August 26, 2011.
- ↑ Garfinkle, Adam. '' Telltale Hearts: The Origins and Impact of the Vietnam Antiwar Movement ''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995 . Books.google.com (January 26, 1991). Date of treatment March 29, 2012.
- ↑ Bluegrass, banjo legend Earl Scruggs dies at 88 , The Birmingham News (March 28, 2012). Date of treatment March 29, 2012.
- ↑ Wilson, David . Earl Scruggs, Banjoist Who Invented 'Scruggs Style,' Dies at 88 , Bloomberg Businessweek (March 28, 2012). Date of treatment March 29, 2012.
- ↑ Interview on Béla Fleck & the Flecktones 2000 DVD, “Live at the Quick”
- ↑ PBS Interview with Béla Fleck . PBS.org. Date of treatment March 28, 2012. Archived October 5, 2012.
- ↑ Nashville Scene (Eng.) // Billboard : magazine. - Nielsen Business Media, 1968. - 1 June ( vol. 80 , no. 22 ). - P. 43 . - ISSN 0006-2510 .
Links
- Rosenberg, Neil V. (1998). "Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music . Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 173-4.
- Willis, Barry R. "Biography of Earl Scruggs." Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts
External links
- - Earl Scruggs official website
- Interview with www.CountryMusicPride.com Interview with www.CountryMusicPride.com
- at the Country Music Hall of Fame
- on MCA Nashville
- on ounder records
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
- Los angeles times obituary