Earl Scruggs was to the five-string banjo what
Paganini was to the violin. As part of the
Foggy Mountain Boys and later
Flatt & Scruggs (both with
Lester Flatt), he created the sound of bluegrass and helped bring it to national recognition through radio shows, recordings, television appearances, and concerts. During the '40s, the group added "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" to the bluegrass canon, and during the '50s and '60s, they became the most visible bluegrass act in the country, performing often on television. The duo's popularity peaked in 1962, when they recorded the theme song to the television sitcom The Beverly Hillbilles. The theme, called "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," became the first number one bluegrass single in early 1963, and the duo made a number of cameos on the show.
By the end of the '60s,
Scruggs wanted to expand their sound and pushed
Flatt to cover
Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" in 1968 as well as land concert appearances in venues that normally booked rock & roll acts.
Flatt wanted to continue in a traditional bluegrass vein. Inevitably, the opposing forces came to a head in 1969, and the duo parted ways. Appropriately,
Flatt formed a traditional bluegrass band, the Nashville Grass, while
Scruggs assembled a more progressive outfit,
the Earl Scruggs Revue, with his two sons.
The Revue appealed more to a young and urban audience and, with dobro player
Josh Graves, played rock and other non-country music. By the end of the '70s,
Flatt & Scruggs began ironing out the details of a proposed reunion album, but they were scrapped upon
Flatt's death on May 11, 1979.
Scruggs made many albums after his parting with
Flatt, highlighted by 1982's
The Storyteller and the Banjo Man (with
Tom T. Hall) and 2001's
Earl Scruggs and Friends (which featured an all-star cast including
Johnny Cash,
Elton John,
Sting,
Vince Gill,
Albert Lee,
Leon Russell, and
Steve Martin).
Scruggs was often seen on TV as well, often for reunion appearances. In 2012, he died in Nashville at the age of 88. ~ David Vinopal