IM: WHUSDJ
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Dark Side of the Highway
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| The legend enjoying the stage with his son, Gary |
By now, you've probably heard that THE Banjo Man, Earl Eugene Scruggs, died Wednesday, March 28th at the age of 88. Since then, I've read many, many tributes to Earl and his influence in various websites, and all over Facebook, and I'm sure there will be more and more tributes over the coming days and weeks. Generally, I think the word "legend" might be thrown around a bit too liberally, but there's absolutely no doubt that "legend" fits perfectly when describing Earl Scruggs. He may not have been the first to try the three-finger style of picking on the banjo, but he's the one who brought that style to the forefront, and pretty much made it his own (a/k/a "Scruggs-style" picking). In fact, Earl literally wrote the book on the banjo -- Earl Scruggs And The Five-String Banjo -- 44 years after it was first published, this book is still in print, and is still being used as a learning tool by novice and more advanced banjo pickers all over the world. Amazing.
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| The "classic" Foggy Mountain Boys -- the perfect Bluegrass band |
If you've not had a chance to read any of the obituaries and tributes posted this week, here are a few links.
From the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/arts/music/earl-scruggs-bluegrass-banjo-player-dies-at-88.html
From CNN (including a video clip of Earl getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003):
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/showbiz/obit-earl-scruggs/index.html
From The Guardian (UK):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/mar/29/earl-scruggs
A very nice tribute in Nashville's Tennessean:
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2012/03/28/earl-scruggs-country-music-hall-of-famer-dies-at-age-88/
The NBC Nightly News on Thursday, March 29th:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#46898947
NPR from March 30th pointing out that Earl was a fantastic guitar player, too:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/30/149653779/a-look-back-at-the-hidden-earl-scruggs
Earl's time on this Earth may have passed, but his influence will live on as long as anyone picks up a banjo. Jim will join you with a slightly-shortened BG Cafe this Sunday (4-6:30PM), and while I don't KNOW this for certain, I might wager that you'll hear a boatload of tremendous music from legendary Earl Scruggs. Sure hope you can tune in...
Amy