Earl Scruggs has died at the age of 88. He was born in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, an area that was rich in the banjo playing traditon. His father, brothers and sisters all played banjo but Earl had a gift that set him aside from others…his unique three finger style of playing caught the ears of many!
Whilst best known for performing his Grammy winning ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’ (see video below) he was also a conscientous man. He was one of the few country and bluegrass musicians to make a stand and perform on an open-air stage in Washington, D. C for the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam which was no easy thing to do back then!
I’m not a fitting biographer to do Earl any real justice, but I loved his music and there is no doubt that his influence will live on way beyond those of you reading this. Time for some three-finger banjo picking in heaven!