tagged w/ Country Music Hall of Fame
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CNN...
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Bluegrass great Earl Scruggs dead at 88
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 12:25 AM EDT, Thu March 29, 2012
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(CNN) -- Earl Scruggs, whose distinctive picking style and association with Lester Flatt cemented bluegrass music's place in popular culture, died Wednesday of natural causes at a Nashville hospital, his son Gary Scruggs said. He was 88.
"I realize his popularity throughout the world went way beyond just bluegrass and country music," Gary Scruggs told CNN. "It was more than that."
For many of a certain age, Scruggs' banjo was part of the soundtrack of an era on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" -- the theme song from the CBS sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies," which aired on CBS from 1962 to 1971 and for decades afterward in syndication.
But much more than that, he popularized a three-finger picking style that brought the banjo to the fore in a supercharged genre, and he was an indispensable member of the small cadre of musical greats who created modern bluegrass music.
Scruggs was born in 1924 to a musically gifted family in rural Cleveland County, North Carolina, according to his official biography. His father, a farmer and a bookkeeper, played the fiddle and banjo, his mother was an organist and his older siblings played guitar and banjo, as well.
Young Earl's exceptional gifts were apparent early on. He started playing the banjo at age 4 and he started developing his three-finger style at the age of 10.
"The banjo was, for all practical purposes, 'reborn' as a musical instrument," the biography on his official website declares, "due to the talent and prominence Earl Scruggs gave to the instrument."
While Scruggs' status as the Prometheus of the banjo may be overstated, many musicians feel he changed the game. Fiddler John Hartman, quoted in Barry R. Willis' "America's Music: Bluegrass," summed it up this way: "Everybody's all worried about who invented the style and it's obvious that three-finger banjo pickers have been around a long time -- maybe since 1840. But my feeling about it is that if it wasn't for Earl Scruggs, you wouldn't be worried about who invented it."
In an article on the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's website, bluegrass historian Neil V. Rosenberg described Scruggs' style as "a 'roll' executed with the thumb and two fingers of his right hand" that essentially made the banjo "a lead instrument like a fiddle or a guitar, particularly on faster pieces and instrumentals. This novel sound attracted considerable attention to their Grand Ole Opry performances, road shows, and Columbia recordings."
In 1945, Scruggs met Flatt when he joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, for whom Flatt was the guitarist and lead vocalist. Along with the group's mandolin-playing namesake were fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts (alias: Cedric Rainwater).
Scruggs and Flatt left Monroe in 1948 to form the Foggy Mountain Boys, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame website. Along with guitarist/vocalists Jim Eanes and Mac Wiseman, fiddler Jim Shumate and Blue Grass Boys alum Rainwater, the group played on WCYB in Bristol, Tennessee, and recorded for the Mercury label.
He married Anne Louise Certain that year. In the '50s she became Flatt & Scruggs' business manager. They were married for more than 57 years until her death in 2006.
The Foggy Mountain Boys' roster changed over the years, but Flatt and Scruggs became the constants, the signature sound of the group on radio programs, notably those sponsored by Martha White Flour, and as regulars at the Grand Ole Opry. They became syndicated TV stars in in the Southeast in the late 1950s and early '60s, and they hit the country charts with the gospel tune "Cabin on the Hill."
But it was during an appearance at a Hollywood folk club that brought them into contact with the producer of "The Beverly Hillbillies" and led to "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." It was their only single to climb to No.1 on the country charts.
The 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde" featured their 1949 instrumental "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," with its distinctive Scruggs-style banjo solo perhaps the most ubiquitous of bluegrass sounds.
The duo split in 1969, and Scruggs' fame as a solo and featured act continued to grow, even as his most iconic licks echoed through the years among his acolytes -- basically, anyone who played banjo, and many who picked other instruments.
Playing "Foggy Mountain" on banjo became a staple of Steve Martin's comedy routine, and blossomed into a reverential tribute. In November 2001, Martin and Scruggs were joined by Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Jerry Douglas and others on "Late Show With David Letterman" to play a fiery version of the song -- soloing alternately on banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, steel guitar and harmonica. Even Paul Schafer took the chorus for a spin on piano.
In an article in the New Yorker in January, Martin wrote, "A grand part of American music owes a debt to Earl Scruggs. Few players have changed the way we hear an instrument the way Earl has, putting him in a category with Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Chet Atkins, and Jimi Hendrix."
Flatt & Scruggs were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985, six years after Lester Flatt's death. In 1991, Scruggs, Flatt and Monroe were the first inductees in the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
His sons Gary and Randy both are accomplished musicians and songwriters, and played with their dad in a 1973 album, "The Earl Scruggs Revue."
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CNN's Cameron Tankersley, Denise Quan and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
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PHOTO:
Earl Scruggs' unique three-finger-roll style revolutionized the banjo and its role in bluegrass and country music.
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Bluegrass great Earl Scruggs dead at 88
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated... more
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Visit http://www.Cheerios.com/love to enter the “Do What You Love” contest.
Martina McBride believes in living a heart healthy lifestyle today so she can continue to do all the things she loves to do tomorrow. In partnership with Cheerios, McBride is recognizing Americans who show the same commitment with the Cheerios "Do What You Love" Contest. The winner will have the chance of a lifetime to tour McBride's Nashville recording studio and get a private tour with her at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.
The lucky winner will receive a prize from McBride and Cheerios that will make their heart skip a beat.
One music lover will tour the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum with McBride, hang out with her in her recording studio -- the world famous Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tenn. -- and get VIP tickets to one of her upcoming concerts.
For a chance to win exclusive access to McBride, Americans must submit a 150-250 word original story and photo. The story and photo must showcase what they love to do and how they take care of themselves so they can continue to do it.
The Cheerios "Do What You Love" Contest runs through July 23 at www.Cheerios.com/love. Winners will be notified the week of August 10.Visit http://www.Cheerios.com/love to enter the “Do What You Love”... more
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In 2007, the world lost two of its most revered Country Music Hall of Fame members -- Porter Wagoner and Hank Thompson -- along with a host of other influential singers, songwriters, musicians and executives. Here's the partial roll call:
Patrick
Bourque, 29, former bassist for Emerson Drive, Sept. 25 in Montreal.
Frank Callari, 55, former manager of the Mavericks, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams and Junior Brown, Oct. 26 in Nashville.
Henson Cargill, 66, recording artist whose signature hit was the 1968 "Skip a Rope," March 24 in Oklahoma City, of complications from surgery.
Tex Davis (real name William Doucette), 93, former record promoter and co-writer of the Gene Vincent rock classic "Be-Bop-A-Lula," Aug. 29 in Nashville.
Ralph Ezell, 54, former bass player for the group Shenandoah, Nov. 30, in South Dakota, of an apparent heart attack.
Dan Fogelberg, 56, award-winning singer and songwriter, Dec. 16 in Maine, of prostate cancer.
Ray Goins, 71, bluegrass banjo player and former member of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and the Goins Brothers bands, July 2 in Pikeville, Ky.
Lee Hazlewood, 78, record producer and songwriter best known for writing Nancy Sinatra's 1996 hit, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," Aug. 4 in Henderson, Nev., of renal cancer.
Doyle Holly, 70, former bassist for Buck Owens' Buckaroos and later a solo artist, Jan. 13 in Nashville, of prostate cancer.
John Hughey, 73, former steel guitarist for Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Vince Gill and the Time Jumpers, Nov. 18 in Nashville.
Pete (Sneaky Pete) Kleinow, 72, steel guitarist and original member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Jan. 6 in Petaluma, Calif., following a battle with Alzheimer's.
Hilly Kristal, 75, founder of New York's CBGB music club, Aug. 28 in New York City, of lung cancer.
Janis Martin, 67, rockabilly singer once billed as "the Female Elvis," Sept. 3 in Durham, N.C., of cancer.
George McCorkle, 60, co-founder of and guitarist for the Marshall Tucker Band, June 29 near Nashville, of cancer.
Robert W. McLean, 60, investment manager and philanthropist who donated Mother Maybelle's signature 1928 Gibson L-5 guitar and Bill Monroe's 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, circa Sept. 25 in Shelbyville, Tenn., an apparent suicide.
Terry McMillan, 53, harmonica player and percussionist, Feb. 2 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Jim Nesbitt, 75, writer and performer of such comic country songs as "Please Mr. Kennedy" and "A Tiger in My Tank," Nov. 29 in Florence, S.C.
Jim Porter, 79, steel guitarist and one of the earliest members of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys band, Dec. 15 in Hoover, Ala.
Boots Randolph, 80, pop recording artist ("Yakety Sax," "Hey, Mr. Sax Man") and former Nashville A-team saxophone sideman, July 3 in Nashville.
Del Reeves, 73, Grand Ole Opry star, impressionist and recording artist ("Girl on the Billboard," "The Belles of Southern Bell"), Jan. 1 in Centerville, Tenn.
Glen Sutton, 69, member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and producer and former husband of singer Lynn Anderson, April 18 in Nashville, of an apparent heart attack.
Clarence "Tater" Tate, 76, former fiddler and bass player in Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys band and later a sideman for other mainstream bluegrass acts, Oct. 17 in Jonesborough, Tenn., of lung cancer.
Hughie Thomasson, 55, pioneering southern rock guitarist and member of the Outlaws band, Sept. 9 in Brooksville, Fla., of an apparent heart attack.
Hank Thompson, 82, songwriter, bandleader, member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and singer of the 1952 hit "The Wild Side of Life," Nov. 6 near Fort Worth, Texas, of lung cancer.
Porter Wagoner, 80, singer, songwriter, producer, television personality, member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame and career-making mentor to Dolly Parton, Oct. 28 in Nashville, of lung cancer.
In 2007, the world lost two of its most revered Country Music Hall of Fame members --... more
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If ya like Country music... this will blow your mind ... at the Coachella site
The Judds reunite for One Night Only w/
Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Big&Rich, etc.
Pre-sale password is: "Cowboy"If ya like Country music... this will blow your mind ... at the Coachella site
The... more
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Here she is:
Success in Country Music is very difficult. Being born African American Woman makes it even more difficult.
Meet Miko Marks: The First African American Woman with Success in Country Music.
This pod is about equal opportunity and female success in today America! It is a pod about social profiling and collective stereotyping. It goes to show how the media and music industry can suppress what people should see.
Stereotyping is a method that people use, consciously or subconsciously, as an efficient way of economizing on information costs.
Country Music is a mostly white music breed. Here she is:
Success in Country Music is very difficult. Being born African... more
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My guess is the CMA's want more time to showcase the '"youth" of country music to keep an audience watching...which is a good idea. Who wouldn't rather watch Dierks Bentley or Brad Paisley over Mel Tillis or Ralph Emery?My guess is the CMA's want more time to showcase the '"youth" of... more
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