On Wednesday of last week, as I was working hard, I got a text from a good friend that said, “I just heard about Earl Scruggs, my condolences” I hadn’t heard the news yet, but I knew what this meant. Earl Scruggs had passed away that morning at the age of 88.
Many people may not know who Earl Scruggs is, in fact I didn’t see anything about it on some contemporary country radio Face book pages or Twitters. It didn’t spread around on every news station for days, like Whitney Houston. However, Earl Scruggs was not another banjo player, he was THE Banjo player. I play Bluegrass banjo, and Country Music. It is known as “Three Finger Scruggs Style” Earl played with his three fingers on his right hand, thumb, index, and middle. Until he started this and made it popular, banjo was played with just the thumb and index, which is still popular today, Mike Snider, Uncle Dave Macon, String Bean, Grandpa Jones all played that frailing style. Earl didn’t just add an extra finger, he changed banjo playing, and he started the three-finger roll that you hear in today’s Country music. When all the little girls are singing a long with Taylor Swift crying on her guitar about how a boy doesn’t like her, that banjo wouldn’t sound like that had it not been for Mr. Scruggs.
The first thing I did when I started banjo, was buy a Flatt and Scruggs greatest hits. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs came from Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass band, and started their own group. As a banjo player there are a few tunes people always want to hear, two of them are, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and “The Ballad of Jed Clampet” both Flatt and Scruggs songs. I would not play banjo had it not been for Earl, and I would not be in Nashville now. I did get a chance to see Earl play twice, The Stagecoach Music Festival in California, and it meant a lot to me to be able to watch him play, there is a punch and a drive to his banjo that cannot be explained other that “Scruggs, ‘nuff said”
This Sunday, most of the big Country Stars were in Vegas for the ACM awards, but I was in Nashville. After Church I went to the Ryman Auditorium for the public funeral of my fallen hero, and anything that happened at the ACMs, won’t hold a candle to what went on in the Ryman this afternoon. This was actually my first time in the Ryman, the second level of pews were filled up, Andrew and I snagged good seats though. Eddy Stubbs of WSM 650Am hosted it and delievered the eulogy. I don’t have much experiences with funerals, however this one was amazing. Charlie Daniels, Bela Fleck, The Del McCoury Band, Ricky Skaggs and The Whites, Patty Lovelace, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, Jim Mills, John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, all spoke or performed, or both. There were many highlights and moments that I’ll never forget. When Ricky Skaggs talked about how much of an impact Earl had on the next generation of players, Ricky asked everyone to raise their hands if they were banjo players, I raised my hand high and looked around at the hundreds of other hands in the air. That was the impact this man had on everyone in that room and listening on the radio, or anyone that has ever played the banjo, or even just heard a banjo, Earl Scruggs gets credit for that in some way or another ad far as I’m concerned. Another special moment was towards the end, Vince Gill had already sung a little bit with Emmylou, but he came back to the stage and spoke before singing again. Vince talked about Earl having to lay a son in the ground, and how Vince’s parents had to do that with his brother years ago. He got choked up (Along with the rest of the place) when he said the first time he ever heard himself on the radio, was a banjo intro to a song. Of all his number one hits, and platinum albums, Opry Member, Country Music Hall of Famer, known for his guitar work and amazing vocal talents, Vince Gill’s first time on the radio was playing banjo, influenced by Mr. Scruggs. Who knew?
When Vince sang “Go Rest High on The Mountain” With Ricky Skaggs and Patty Lovelace, just like the did in the original cut, everyone lost it, at this point, no one in the Ryman could keep their cool, there was not a dry eye in the house. A great quote from Ricky Skaggs that day, went something like, “If you are not a believer, I challenge you to look and listen to Earl Scruggs and say that is not a gift from God, because Earl Scruggs was just that.” Everyone that played and spoke received a standing ovation, and rightfully so, but the loudest applause and the longest was for Earl himself. Eddy Stubbs said a closing prayer, and they walked the casket out of the Ryman Auditorium, to “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” And what an honor it was to be a part of Earl Scruggs that day.
Thank you Randy, Gary and the rest of the Scruggs family, for sharing your talented father and friend with e and the world, and for letting me be a part of that day. April 1st 2012.
The Ryman was the perfect place for this, it is where Earl got his start. They had programs, and they won’t be sold on EBay for hundreds of dollars, there was no over the top show boating, just true talent paying tribute to the master of the 5 string banjo.
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