Earl Scruggs facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Earl Scruggs
Scruggs in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Earl Eugene Scruggs
Born	(1924-01-06)January 6, 1924 Cleveland County, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	March 28, 2012(2012-03-28) (aged 88) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Bluegrass country gospel
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	5-string banjo guitar
Years active	1945–2012
Labels	Mercury Columbia OKeh MCA Nashville
Associated acts	Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys Flatt and Scruggs

Earl Eugene Scruggs (born January 6, 1924 – died March 28, 2012) was an American musician. He was famous for making a special way of playing the banjo popular. This style is called "Scruggs style" and uses three fingers. It is a key part of bluegrass music. Before Earl, the banjo was mostly a background instrument. His new style made the banjo a star, playing exciting solo parts. He helped the banjo become popular in many types of music.

Earl Scruggs started his career at age 21. He joined Bill Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys. The band's name eventually gave the whole music style its name: "bluegrass." Earl played on the famous Grand Ole Opry show. He also recorded hit songs like "Blue Moon of Kentucky." But the band's touring was very tiring. So, Earl left the group in 1946. Another band member, Lester Flatt, also left. They later formed a duo called Flatt and Scruggs.

In 1949, Scruggs released a banjo song called "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." It became a huge hit. The song became popular again in 1967. This happened when it was used in the movie Bonnie and Clyde. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" won two Grammy Awards. In 2005, it was chosen for the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. This registry lists important American recordings.

Flatt and Scruggs helped make bluegrass music very popular in the early 1960s. Their country hit, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," was the theme song for the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. This was the first time a Scruggs song reached number one on the Billboard charts. Over 20 years, Flatt and Scruggs recorded more than 50 albums. They also released 75 singles. The duo broke up in 1969. Earl wanted to try new, more modern sounds. But Lester liked the traditional style. He thought changing would upset their fans. Both musicians started new bands. But neither found the same success they had together.

Earl Scruggs received many awards. He won four Grammy awards. He also got a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was given a National Medal of Arts. He joined the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. He also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1985, Flatt and Scruggs were put into the Country Music Hall of Fame together. They were named number 24 on CMT's "40 Greatest Men of Country Music." Earl also received a National Heritage Fellowship. This is the highest honor in folk and traditional arts in the U.S. Four of his songs are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. After Earl Scruggs passed away in 2012, the Earl Scruggs Center was created. It is in Shelby, North Carolina, near where he was born. The center teaches people about Scruggs' music. It also offers classes and field trips for students.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Earl Scruggs was born on January 6, 1924. He grew up in a small place called Flint Hill. This was in Cleveland County, North Carolina. His father was a farmer and bookkeeper. He passed away when Earl was only four years old. Earl's mother, Lula, then had to take care of the farm. She also raised five children, with Earl being the youngest.

Everyone in Earl's family played music. His father played the banjo. His mother played the pump organ. Earl's older brothers and sisters played banjo and guitar. When Earl was six, he visited his uncle's house. He heard a blind banjo player named Mack Woolbright. Mack played with his fingers. This really impressed Earl. He said it was "just amazing."

Earl then started playing the banjo. He was too small to hold it at first. So, he put his brother's banjo on the floor next to him. He moved it around as he played different parts. After his father died, music became a comfort for Earl. He spent almost all his free time practicing. He first played on the radio at age 11. It was on a talent show.

Developing the Scruggs Style

Finger picks on thumb, index and middle finger

Earl Scruggs is known for making the "Scruggs style" of banjo playing popular. This three-finger style is a key part of bluegrass music. Before Earl, most banjo players used a style called "clawhammer". In clawhammer, players move their whole hand down. They hit the strings with the back of their fingernail. Then they strike a single string with their thumb.

The three-finger style is very different. The hand stays still. Only the fingers and thumb move. It's a bit like how a classical guitarist plays. Scruggs' style also uses picks on three fingers. He plucks individual strings. The thumb goes down, then the index and middle fingers go up. When done fast and well, one finger can play the main tune. The other two fingers play arpeggios, which are broken chords.

Using picks makes each note louder and sharper. This creates an exciting sound. The New York Times described it as "like thumbtacks plinking rhythmically on a tin roof." This new way of playing made the banjo more important. It changed from a background instrument to a solo instrument. This helped the banjo become popular in many kinds of music.

Earl Scruggs did not invent the three-finger banjo style. He said it was common in his hometown. An early influence was a local banjo player, Snuffy Jenkins. Snuffy played with his fingers. Earl learned the technique at age ten. He was playing a song called "Reuben" when he realized he was using three fingers. He was so excited, he ran through the house yelling, "I've got it!" From then on, he worked hard to make his style perfect. He added new rhythms and changes. Some people argue about who first played this style. But many agree that Earl Scruggs made it famous. As musician John Hartford said, "If it wasn't for Earl Scruggs, you wouldn't be worried about who invented it."

Joining Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys

When Earl was 15, he played in a group called The Morris Brothers. He left them after a few months. He went to work in a factory making sewing thread. He worked there for about two years. In 1945, after World War II, he returned to music. He played with "Lost John Miller and his Allied Kentuckians." Around this time, a spot opened up in Bill Monroe's band.

Bill and Charlie Monroe, c. 1936

Bill Monroe was 13 years older than Earl. He was already a big name in country music. His career started with his brother Charlie, as the "Monroe Brothers." Bill sang high harmony parts. This sound was called "high lonesome." The brothers split up in 1938. Bill then formed a new group. He called them Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bill was from Kentucky, known as "the Bluegrass State." The name "bluegrass" stuck. It became the name for this whole type of country music. Bill Monroe became known as "the father of bluegrass."

When Earl was 21, Bill Monroe needed a new banjo player. Banjo players often acted as comedians in bands. Their playing was sometimes hard to hear. Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt listened to many banjo players. They all played in the old style. Then Earl Scruggs auditioned. Lester Flatt said, "I was thrilled. It was so different!" Earl joined Monroe's band in late 1945.

The band included Bill Monroe (singing/mandolin), Lester Flatt (guitar/singing), Earl Scruggs (banjo), Chubby Wise (fiddle), and Howard Watts (bass). This group became the model for what a bluegrass band should be.

Earl performed on the Grand Ole Opry with Monroe and Flatt. In September 1946, they recorded "Blue Moon of Kentucky." This song is now a classic. It was added to the National Recording Registry. It is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The band's schedule was very busy. They played many shows in movie theaters. They drove long hours from town to town. They often did six shows a day. They had to get back to Nashville every Saturday for the Opry. Earl said Bill Monroe pushed them to play their best.

Despite their success, Earl felt the work was too much. He was single and lived in a hotel. He decided to leave the band. He planned to go home and care for his mother. Lester Flatt also decided to leave. The bass player, Howard Watts, left too. Bill Monroe tried to get them to stay. But they left the band. Monroe thought Flatt and Scruggs had planned it together. But both men said no. Bill Monroe did not speak to either of them for 20 years. This disagreement was well known in country music.

Flatt and Scruggs: A Bluegrass Duo

In 1948, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs formed a new duo. They called their backing band "the Foggy Mountain Boys." The name came from a song by the Carter Family. Flatt said they wanted their sound to be different from Monroe's band. In the mid-1950s, they added a Dobro player, Buck "Uncle Josh" Graves.

In 1949, they recorded "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." This song became a classic. Earl had played a similar song with Bill Monroe. But Monroe did not give him credit for writing it. So, Earl changed the song a bit. He added a minor chord. This created "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." The song won a Grammy. It became a challenge for many banjo players to learn.

Earl Scruggs on left

"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" became popular again years later. It was used in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. This introduced the song to a new, younger audience. The film's producer, Warren Beatty, first asked Earl to write a new song. But then he decided to use the old recording of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." The movie was a big hit. In 2005, the song was chosen for the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.

In 1951, the band recorded "Earl's Breakdown." In this song, Earl would change the tuning of his banjo strings during the song. He used a special device he made. This created a surprising sound. He had experimented with this device since he was young. Other musicians later improved his design.

In 1953, Martha White Foods sponsored the band's radio shows. Flatt and Scruggs sang the company's catchy bluegrass jingle. They also appeared on country music TV shows. This made them much more famous. At first, the Grand Ole Opry did not want Flatt and Scruggs to join. Some say Bill Monroe tried to keep them out. But in 1955, the head of Martha White Foods stepped in. He threatened to stop all his advertising. So, the band was allowed to play on the Opry. Over time, the band became very linked to Martha White. Their advertising jingle even became a hit song.

On September 24, 1962, the duo recorded "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." This was the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show. It was sung by Jerry Scoggins. The song became an instant country music hit. It was played at the start and end of every episode. It went to number one on the Billboard country chart. This was a first for any bluegrass song. The TV show was also a huge hit. It was shown in 76 countries. A young boy named Béla Fleck heard the song. He later became a famous banjo player. He said the song made him want to learn the banjo. Flatt and Scruggs even appeared in some episodes of the show.

Earl Scruggs published a banjo instruction book in 1968. It was called "Earl Scruggs and the Five String Banjo." It sold over a million copies. Over their 20 years together, Flatt and Scruggs recorded more than 50 albums. They also had 75 single records.

By the late 1960s, Earl wanted to try new things. His sons were musicians. They were excited about more modern music. Earl said he loved bluegrass, but he also wanted to play other music. He wanted to play concerts where rock and roll bands played. Their record company suggested a new producer, Bob Johnston. He had worked with Bob Dylan. This led to new albums like Changin' Times. But Lester Flatt did not like some of the new songs. He refused to sing Bob Dylan songs. Even the success of the Bonnie and Clyde album was not enough. The duo broke up in 1969.

After the split, Lester Flatt formed a traditional bluegrass group. Earl Scruggs formed the Earl Scruggs Revue with his sons. Neither Flatt nor Scruggs spoke for ten years. Then, in 1979, Lester was in the hospital. Earl visited him. They talked for over an hour. Lester spoke of a reunion. Earl said yes, but they would talk more when Lester was better. Lester Flatt passed away soon after, on May 11, 1979.

The Earl Scruggs Revue

In early 1969, Earl Scruggs started a new band. It was called the Earl Scruggs Revue. His sons, Randy (guitar) and Gary (bass), were in the band. Later, Vassar Clements (fiddle), Josh Graves (Dobro), and his youngest son, Steve (drums), joined. On November 15, 1969, Earl played with his new band. It was at a big outdoor concert in Washington, D.C. This concert was part of the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. Earl was one of the few country artists to support the anti-war movement.

The Earl Scruggs Revue became popular on college campuses. They played many live shows and festivals. They performed with bands like Steppenwolf and The Byrds. They also appeared often on TV shows in the 1970s. Their album I Saw the Light with a Little Help from my Friends featured famous singers. These included Linda Ronstadt and Arlo Guthrie. This album led to another important project. It was the album Will the Circle be Unbroken. Earl and his wife, Louise, helped bring together older country stars with young musicians for this album. Bill Monroe did not join. He said it was not true bluegrass. But the album became a classic. It was also chosen for the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.

Earl had to stop touring in 1980 because of back problems. The Earl Scruggs Revue broke up in 1982. Even though they were popular, some traditional bluegrass fans did not fully accept them. Earl kept making music. He released The Storyteller and the Banjoman with Tom T. Hall in 1982. In 1994, he worked with Randy Scruggs and Doc Watson. They contributed a song to an AIDS benefit album. In 2001, Earl released Earl Scruggs and Friends. This album featured many big stars. These included Elton John, Sting, Johnny Cash, and Steve Martin. He also released a live album, The Three Pickers. He recorded it with Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs in 2002.

Awards and Honors

Earl Scruggs received many important awards:

• In 1989, he won a National Heritage Fellowship. This is the highest honor in folk and traditional arts in the U.S.
• Flatt and Scruggs were put into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
• Earl was one of the first people inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1991. He also joined the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
• In 1992, he received the National Medal of Arts. This award is given by the President for great contributions to the arts.
• Flatt and Scruggs won a Grammy Award in 1968 for "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." Earl won a second Grammy for the same song in 2001. He won a total of four Grammy awards. In 2008, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
• On February 13, 2003, Earl Scruggs got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• That same year, he and Flatt were ranked No. 24 on CMT's "40 Greatest Men of Country Music."
• In 2005, he received an honorary degree from Berklee College of Music.
• In 1973, a concert honored Earl Scruggs. Many famous artists played. The concert was filmed for a documentary called Banjoman. It premiered in 1975.
• The Coen brothers movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) named its band "The Soggy Bottom Boys." This was a nod to "The Foggy Mountain Boys."
• In 2006, Earl was honored at Turner Field in Atlanta. Organizers set a Guinness World Record for the most banjo players. 239 people played "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" together.
• Four of Earl's works are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. These include "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and the album Foggy Mountain Jamboree. Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky," which Earl played on, is also there.

Earl's Banjos

In the late 1950s, Earl Scruggs worked with the Vega Musical Instrument Company. He helped design a new banjo called "The Earl Scruggs Model." It was the first time a famous bluegrass banjo player used a brand other than Gibson. Earl helped with Vega's ads. They said the banjo was made to his design. This was true, but Earl never really loved playing it. He kept using his Gibson Granada banjo for performances and recordings. The Vega company was sold in 1970.

In 1984, Gibson made the banjo Earl really wanted. It was the Gibson "Earl Scruggs Standard." This banjo was a copy of his own 1934 Gibson Granada RB Mastertone banjo. Earl's actual 1934 banjo had been owned by other famous players before him. When Earl got it, the banjo was in bad shape. He sent it to Gibson to be fixed. They gave it a new fingerboard and a thinner neck.

Louise Scruggs: A Pioneer Manager

On December 14, 1946, 19-year-old Anne Louise Certain went to the Grand Ole Opry. She met Earl Scruggs backstage. They started dating and fell in love. They got married in April 1948.

When Flatt and Scruggs formed their new band, Earl handled most of the bookings. But it was hard to do from the road. Louise had a good business mind. She started helping with phone calls and bookings. She eventually became the band's manager. She was one of the first women in Nashville to have such a big role in music.

Louise was very smart. She helped make the band TV stars. She helped them become as famous as rock stars. They toured with Joan Baez and played at the Newport Folk Festival. She hired a famous artist, Thomas B. Allen, to draw album covers. She helped the band reach younger fans at colleges. She even arranged for a live album to be recorded at Carnegie Hall. Earl Scruggs said, "What talent I had never would have peaked without her." He said she helped make music a real business. Louise passed away on February 2, 2006, at age 78. In 2007, the Country Music Hall of Fame created the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum. This event honors music industry leaders.

Personal Life and Challenges

In 1955, Earl learned his mother had a stroke and heart attack. He and Louise, with their sons, drove all night to see her. They were in a car accident near Knoxville. The children were not hurt. But Earl broke his pelvis and dislocated both hips. These injuries caused him problems for years. Louise was also hurt. They were flown to a Nashville hospital. Earl stayed in the hospital for about two months. He got thousands of letters from fans.

He returned to music in January 1956. But one of his hips collapsed. He had to go back to the hospital for a metal hip. Seven years later, his other hip needed similar surgery. The first metal hip lasted for about 40 years. In 1996, at age 72, he needed a total hip replacement. While recovering, he had a heart attack. He had more surgery for his heart. But he recovered and kept playing music.

Earl was also in a solo plane crash in October 1975. He was flying his plane home to Nashville. He landed in thick fog and overshot the runway. The plane flipped over. The crash alert system did not work. Earl was stuck for five hours. He crawled about 150 feet from the plane. He had a broken ankle, broken nose, and cuts. He was afraid the plane would catch fire. His family found him after his niece called the police. He recovered, but used a wheelchair for a few weeks.

Scruggs performing with his sons Randy and Gary at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, 2009

Earl's youngest son, Steve Scruggs, was a drummer in the Earl Scruggs Revue. He passed away in September 1992. His middle son, Randy Scruggs, was a guitarist and music producer. Randy passed away in April 2018 at age 64.

For many years, Earl's birthday was celebrated with a party at his home. After dinner, guests would gather to play music. Many famous country stars would sing and play. These included Tom T. Hall, Béla Fleck, and Emmylou Harris. At Earl's 80th birthday party in 2004, country singer Porter Wagoner said, "Earl is to the five-string banjo what Babe Ruth was to baseball. He is the best there ever was and the best there ever will be."

Earl Scruggs passed away on March 28, 2012, at age 88. His funeral was held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. He was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.

The Earl Scruggs Center

Earl Scruggs Center

The Earl Scruggs Center opened on January 11, 2014. It is a large, modern building in Shelby, North Carolina. It is located in the renovated county courthouse. The center shows Earl Scruggs' musical contributions. It features a museum and a life-sized statue of a young Earl. The center received money from the U.S. government and companies. It is an educational center. It offers classes and field trips for students. The opening was celebrated with a sold-out concert. Many artists like Vince Gill and Travis Tritt performed.

Selected Discography

Early Singles

Later Singles

Guest Singles

Music Videos

Albums

DVDs

Earl Scruggs

• 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)

See also

In Spanish: Earl Scruggs para niños