Earl Scruggs is a true bluegrass pioneer. He was born and raised near Shelby, N.C., in a musical family. Earl's father, George Elam Scruggs, played the fiddle and banjo. Although the elder Scruggs died when Earl was only four, their home was still one filled with the sounds of the banjo, guitar and organ.
Scruggs began playing the banjo at the age of four. Completely self taught, Scruggs, at the age of 10, developed his own unique style of picking that used three fingers and would influence generations to come. Banjo players around the world refer to it simply as "Scruggs-Style Picking."
Scruggs' style earned him a spot in Bill Monroe's famed Blue Grass Boys band in late 1945. Three years later, Scruggs and guitarist Lester Scruggs left the Blue Grass Boys. Together, the duo performed as Flatt and Scruggs until 1969. The two musicians would reunite in 1962 to record "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," the popular theme song for the television series The Beverly Hillbillies, which premiered in 1962. The song played at the beginning and end of each episode, and Flatt and Scruggs both appeared as themselves in seven episodes from 1963-68.
Flatt and Scrugs won a Grammy® Award in 1968 for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group, vocal or instrumental, for "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." In 1969, Flatt and Scruggs went their separate ways, and Scruggs formed the Earl Scruggs Revue featuring several of his sons. Scruggs has three additional Grammy Awards to his credit-1998's Best Collaboration with Vocals for Same Old Train; 2001 and 2004's Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and "Earl's Breakdown," respectively. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008.
Scruggs, along with Flatt, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985. He received the American National Medal of Arts in 1992, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He entered the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the inaugural class.
Latest CD
Lifetimes: Lewis, Scruggs, and Long