Flatt & Scruggs
And now... it's time... to induct another recording artist or group to my Recording Artist Hall of Fame ( DRAHoF)...
And it is.... Flatt & Scruggs
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, along with the Foggy Mountain Boys, are seen as one of the landmark bands in bluegrass music.
From an early age, I've liked bluegrass and even wanted to try to play banjo at one point... just an idea that didn't get very far. Flatt & Scruggs, to me and my simple mind, are associated most with Foggy Mountain Breakdown (as in the Bonnie and Clyde movie of the late '60's) as well as the Beverly Hillbillies. Both that film and that TV show have special places in my life as well as Linda's. So that alone, if not for any other reason (altho they are worthy for many other things) is the main reason I am inducting them into DRAHoF...
So, as far as that goes, the Bonnie and Clyde film with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway has long been a favorite to the point, I think, of Faye Dunaway being thought of as my favorite actress when I was a kid... and later on, I met and married Linda who I also associate with Faye Dunaway in appearance..... AND, we also have an affiliation with the Beverly Hillbillies, which we often watch when we go to sleep (as well as Green Acres, Bewitched, Doris Day Show, Happy Days and others)... In fact, Flatt and Scruggs appeared in a few episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies...
I went to a bluegrass festival in Vermont with my family when I was a kid... but I was too young and uninformed to know what groups were there. I think I recall the Beverly Hillbillies theme being played at one point, or Foggy Mountain Breakdown, something that was familiar to a kid... but I'm guessing it might have been some other band playing it... as Flatt & Scruggs had disbanded by that point. I'll have to try to do a little internet research to see if I can figure out if they (or one or the other of them) could possibly have been there.
Anyway, here are a few things I've gathered about Flatt & Scruggs...
They were formed in 1948 by Flatt, who had been a member of Bill Monroe's bluegrass band, and they performed together until 1969.
Flatt's rhythm guitar style and vocals and Scruggs' banjo style gave them a distinctive sound.
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was an instrumental originally released in 1949 and used in many rural car chase movie sequences, notably in Bonnie and Clyde. It has won two Grammy awards.
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was used as the theme for the Beverly Hillbillies television series.
Earl Scruggs was noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style," which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finger style of playing was radically different from the traditional way the five-string banjo had previously been played. This new style of playing became popular and elevated the banjo from its previous role as a background rhythm instrument to featured solo status. He popularized the instrument across several genres of music.
The duo broke up in 1969, chiefly because, where Scruggs wanted to switch styles to fit a more modern sound, Flatt was a traditionalist who opposed the change, and believed doing so would alienate a fan base of bluegrass purists. Although each of them formed a new band to match their visions, neither of them ever regained the success they had achieved as a team.
And it is.... Flatt & Scruggs
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, along with the Foggy Mountain Boys, are seen as one of the landmark bands in bluegrass music.
From an early age, I've liked bluegrass and even wanted to try to play banjo at one point... just an idea that didn't get very far. Flatt & Scruggs, to me and my simple mind, are associated most with Foggy Mountain Breakdown (as in the Bonnie and Clyde movie of the late '60's) as well as the Beverly Hillbillies. Both that film and that TV show have special places in my life as well as Linda's. So that alone, if not for any other reason (altho they are worthy for many other things) is the main reason I am inducting them into DRAHoF...
So, as far as that goes, the Bonnie and Clyde film with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway has long been a favorite to the point, I think, of Faye Dunaway being thought of as my favorite actress when I was a kid... and later on, I met and married Linda who I also associate with Faye Dunaway in appearance..... AND, we also have an affiliation with the Beverly Hillbillies, which we often watch when we go to sleep (as well as Green Acres, Bewitched, Doris Day Show, Happy Days and others)... In fact, Flatt and Scruggs appeared in a few episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies...
I went to a bluegrass festival in Vermont with my family when I was a kid... but I was too young and uninformed to know what groups were there. I think I recall the Beverly Hillbillies theme being played at one point, or Foggy Mountain Breakdown, something that was familiar to a kid... but I'm guessing it might have been some other band playing it... as Flatt & Scruggs had disbanded by that point. I'll have to try to do a little internet research to see if I can figure out if they (or one or the other of them) could possibly have been there.
Anyway, here are a few things I've gathered about Flatt & Scruggs...
They were formed in 1948 by Flatt, who had been a member of Bill Monroe's bluegrass band, and they performed together until 1969.
Flatt's rhythm guitar style and vocals and Scruggs' banjo style gave them a distinctive sound.
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was an instrumental originally released in 1949 and used in many rural car chase movie sequences, notably in Bonnie and Clyde. It has won two Grammy awards.
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was used as the theme for the Beverly Hillbillies television series.
Earl Scruggs was noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style," which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finger style of playing was radically different from the traditional way the five-string banjo had previously been played. This new style of playing became popular and elevated the banjo from its previous role as a background rhythm instrument to featured solo status. He popularized the instrument across several genres of music.
The duo broke up in 1969, chiefly because, where Scruggs wanted to switch styles to fit a more modern sound, Flatt was a traditionalist who opposed the change, and believed doing so would alienate a fan base of bluegrass purists. Although each of them formed a new band to match their visions, neither of them ever regained the success they had achieved as a team.