It is from this foundation that the late banjo virtuoso, Earl Scruggs, evolved. As a member of Monroe’s band, he changed the way his instrument was played. The old timers like Stringbean, Grandpa Jones and Uncle Dave used a hardcore, rough-hewn “claw hammer” style of plucking the strings, but when Earl Scruggs came along with his five-string banjo he INVENTED the smooth, three-finger roll of picking that had never been used before. This dramatically changed the tempo of a bluegrass song. Later, he joined forces with Lester Flatt and together they changed the way the world thought about this uniquely American music. After his death on March 28, 2012, most of the people who were influenced by Earl Scruggs and were asked to give their thoughts on what made him great talked a little about his groundbreaking style of picking and some talked about his bringing in the younger demographic to a decidedly rustic genre of music. However, everyone made it a point to say what a sweet man Earl Scruggs was. I can attest to this. For several years, my dad took his passion for hillbilly music and the Grand Ole Opry and packed up his wife and three kids and hauled us up from Texas to Nashville to see the show. I’ll never forget being at the special pre-Opry Friday night show that was held at the Ryman auditorium and having WSM announcer Ralph Emory escort Earl Scruggs into the audience to meet all of us hayseeds who had come to the show. They walked by where my family was sitting and Mr. Scruggs shook my hand and asked if I knew how to play the banjo. At the age of about 7 or 8, I sincerely said, “No. Not yet anyway.” Then he played a little riff and the entire crowd went nuts. Needless to say, I didn’t really know who Earl Scruggs was until the next night when Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs headlined the “Martha White Flour” show on the Grand Ole Opry. When the band started to crank up “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and Earl Scruggs flawlessly coaxed that amazing sound from his banjo, I was mesmerized. I have been ever since.
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