Monday Music - Earl Scruggs 1924-2012

Last Wednesday, Earl Scruggs, the banjo player who did much to define the sound of bluegrass, died at age 88. Scruggs, was just four years old when he started to play the banjo. He came up with his own three-finger style of picking that became the sound and style every other banjo picker began to copy.

I grew up on a musical diet of old-time southern gospel hymns and quartet music, but banjos didn't figure into that too much. My earliest encounter with the music of Earl Scruggs was the theme song of the Beverly Hillbillies back in the mid-1960s. That was, in fact, the first time I can remember ever really hearing blue grass music. Thankfully, bluegrass is bigger and more popular today than it was back then.

Earl has passed on, but the Scruggs sound will continue to live on for years and years to come. If you've never heard much of Scruggs' playing, it's time to do something about that.

Click Here to read and listen to more about Earl Scruggs.