The Outpost

Earl Scruggs – One of a Kind Like a lot of boys who grew up in rural Texas during the late 30’s and 40’s, my father and his family would gather around the radio every Saturday night to listen to the Grand Ole Opry on clear channel 650, WSM radio. Since he is now 86 years old, he has shared hundreds of stories about the pickers and singers who made their way to the Ryman stage for their Saturday night shows.

This live country music show was listened to by working class families across the country. Many of these musicians who became famous from this show – Uncle Dave Macon, the Delmore Brothers, Bill Monroe, the Carter Family and others – had devoted fans (including my dad) who would later show up for their gigs at school gymnasiums, VFW halls and flatbed trucks on the town’s square.

Many credit Monroe with discovering and popularizing bluegrass music, which featured non-amplified guitars, mandolins, fiddles and banjos and the type of vocal harmonies that can only be described as spiritual.

However, this genre had been around a long time before he ever tuned up his first mandolin. It came from the Appalachian Mountains and was spawned by the Scotch-Irish settlers who carved out a home from this hardscrabble environment. Hunting and fishing were not sports to these folks. They were critical skills that determined whether the family had meat or fish to survive.