RIP - Earl Scruggs

Earl  Eugene  Scruggs

b.  :  06 January 1924

d.  :  28 March 2012

    Simply put, Earl Scruggs is a bluegrass legend.  Some of the folks he played with over the years include Bill Monroe (the father of bluegrass), Lester Flatt ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett"), Vassar Clements (another bluegrass legend), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ("Will the Circle be Unbroken"), and Doc Watson & Ricky Skaggs (the Three Pickers).

    But he was more than just a musician.  When The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band  came to Nashville looking for C&W artists to collaborate with on Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Scruggs embraced the gesture.  Bill Monroe didn't want anything to do with a bunch of long-haired hippies.  Earl supported the (Vietnam) anti-war movement.  And the team of Flatt & Scruggs was constantly adapting rock & roll tunes into the bluegrass genre.

    I have albums by him from all stages of his career, and a video of the Three Pickers, which is a treasure.  Most of the first generation of bluegrass pickers are gone now.  Alison Krauss is more of a diva lately, and even Ricky Skaggs is looking a bit old.  Right now, the bluegrass band that I'm most excited about is Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.  Yeah, it's that Steve Martin, but the man's also an accomplished banjo picker.

    So Rest In Peace, Earl Scruggs.  You had a long career, you wore the bluegrass mantle proudly, and your songs will not soon fade away.  I for one consider you a liegend.