Earl Scruggs – Performing With His Family and Friends

dscn5573This was $3.00. Technically, I should be back from vacation.  However, I am still blazing thru the rest of this months’ post.  If you come here for the writing, you have been short changed this month.

Earl Scruggs, 1924-2012. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Earl Scruggs (1924-2012) popularized his three finger style of banjo and was a pioneer of bluegrass music.  Together with guitarist Lester Flatts, (both of which played with Bill Monroe until 1948), Scruggs formed the Foggy Mountain Boys and had several bluegrass hits thru out the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Oddly enough, Scruggs was one of the few bluegrass artists to support the anti war movement at the time.  That is evident on this record in the segment recorded at the Moratorium in Washington DC in 1969.

This record was from a TV special Scruggs did with several guest stars.  Released in 1972, it featured a diverse line up of artists such as Doc Watson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and the Birds.  Various members of Scruggs family also play on the album.  Dylan’s contribution is small, playing guitar on the instrumental “Nashville Skyline Rag”.  Doc Watson’s segments are quite good.  Baez, provided some controversy and along with Dylan’s inclusion, may have turned off some bluegrass die hards.  However, Scruggs music was able to transcend prevailing attitudes at the time.
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For samples, I went with a somewhat interesting track featuring Scruggs talking about electronic music.  “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” features Scruggs playing banjo against a Moog.  I also featured Scruggs playing with the Byrds on thier take of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.”

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Satisfactory Record

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