Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist

Lester Flatt Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American bluegrass (music), bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned ...

and banjo player

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

, both of whom had been members of

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scruggs are viewed by music historians as one of the premier bluegrass groups in the history of the genre.Rosenberg, Neil V. (1998)
"Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys"
''The Encyclopedia of Country Music'', Oxford University Press, pp. 173-4 Flatt and Scruggs recorded and performed together until 1969. Their backing band, the Foggy Mountain Boys, included fiddle player Paul Warren, a master player in both the old-time and bluegrass fiddling styles whose technique reflected all qualitative aspects of "the bluegrass breakdown" and fast bowing style; dobro player Uncle Josh Graves, an innovator of the advanced playing style of the instrument now used in the genre; stand-up bass player Cousin Jake Tullock; and mandolinist Curly Seckler.

History

worked for Monroe at the time

was considered for

's band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1945. The two left that band early in 1948, and within a few months had formed the Foggy Mountain Boys. Flatt's rhythm-guitar style and vocals and Scruggs'

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

style gave them a distinctive sound that won them many fans. In 1955, they became members of the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

.Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat
"Flatt and Scruggs"
''The Guide to United States Popular Culture'', Popular Press, 2001, p. 284 Scruggs, who had always shown progressive tendencies, experimented on duets with saxophonist

King Curtis Curtis Montgomery (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musi ...

and added songs by the likes of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

to the group's repertoire. Flatt, a traditionalist, did not like these changes, and the group broke up in 1969. Following the breakup, Lester Flatt founded the Nashville Grass and Scruggs led the Earl Scruggs Revue. Flatt died of heart failure in Nashville, Tennessee, May 11, 1979 at the age of 64. Scruggs died from natural causes on March 28, 2012 in a Nashville hospital. Flatt and Scruggs were elected to the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

in 1985. In 2003, they ranked No. 24 on CMT's ''40 Greatest Men of Country Music'', one of only four non-solo artists to make the list (

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, and Brooks & Dunn are the others).

Members

(guitar) *

(

, guitar) * Paul Warren (

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

) * John Ray "Curly" Seckler (

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, guitar) * Josh Graves ( Dobro, bass) * English P. “Cousin Jake” Tullock (bass) * Chubby Wise (fiddle) * Jim Shumate (fiddle) * Benny Martin (fiddle) * Benny Sims (fiddle) * Howdy Forrester (fiddle) * Art Wooten (fiddle) * Howard Watts aka "Cedric Rainwater" (bass) * Charles Johnson aka "Little Jody Rainwater" (bass) * Frank "Hylo" Brown (bass, guitar) * Charles “Little Darlin’” Elza (bass) * Joe Stuart (bass) * Ernie Newton (bass) * Bob Moore (bass) * Everett Lilly (mandolin) * Jim Eanes (guitar) * Mac Wiseman (guitar) * Billy E. Powers (guitar) * Johnny Johnson (guitar) * Earl Taylor (mandolin and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

) * Grover C. Deskins Jr. (harmonica)

Notable songs

* " Foggy Mountain Breakdown": an instrumental originally released in 1949 and used in many

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

car chase

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

sequences, notably in '' Bonnie and Clyde''. It has won two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. * " The Ballad of Jed Clampett" ( /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Ballad_of_Jed_Clampett.ogg listen: used as the theme for the '' Beverly Hillbillies''

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

. The song reached No. 42 on the record charts during the series' debut season of 1962. The song hit No. 1 on the country charts in January 1963, and was the only number-one hit song of their career. The song is one of only five TV theme songs to ever reach No. 1 on the country charts. * Martha White jingle (still used in advertising today). * " Petticoat Junction": theme from the TV series.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flatt and Scruggs 1948 establishments in the United States 1969 disestablishments in the United States American bluegrass music groups American country music groups Grammy Award winners Musical groups established in 1948 Musical groups disestablished in 1969 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees