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Banjo player Earl Scruggs passes away

Banjo player Earl Scruggs passes away

TRIBUTES have been paid to the banjo player Earl Scruggs who has died aged 88.

The bluegrass musician is credited with helping to create modern country music.

His unique playing technique, which involved using three fingers, became known within the music world as the “Scrugg’s picking style”.

In his early career, Mr. Scruggs played with Bill Monroe and The Blue Grass Boys. He then moved on to form The Foggy Mountain Boys with Lester Flatt.

One of their best known recordings was The Ballad of Jed Clampett which was used as the theme tune to the 1960s TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. Another of their recordings, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

After leaving the The Foggy Mountain Boys, he formed The Earl Scruggs Revue with his three sons.

Mr. Scruggs was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985. He received the National Medal of Art in 1992.

To see Earl Scruggs perform with some friends, click here.

 

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