Whereas Lester Flatt was born on June 19, 1914, in the
region of Sparta, Tennessee;
Whereas Lester Flatt began playing guitar and singing in
local churches at a young age;
Whereas Lester Flatt got his first break playing with
Charlie Monroe and the Kentucky Pardners in North Carolina in the early
1940s;
Whereas in 1945, Lester Flatt was invited by Bill Monroe
to play rhythm guitar and sing with Monroe’s band on the Grand Ole Opry;
Whereas Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, Howard
Watts, and Bill Monroe are widely credited with the creation of bluegrass music
through their band, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys;
Whereas Lester Flatt later joined with Earl Scruggs to
create the band Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, which remains
one of the most influential bands in bluegrass music;
Whereas in 1969, Lester Flatt parted with Scruggs to form
the band Nashville Grass, with whom he performed until shortly before his death
on May 11, 1979;
Whereas in 1991, Lester Flatt, along with Bill Monroe and
Earl Scruggs, became an inaugural member of the International Bluegrass Music
Hall of Fame; and
Whereas Lester Flatt is widely regarded as one of the
greatest bluegrass musicians and singers of all time, writing dozens of songs
that are considered bluegrass classics: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that Lester Flatt has made an invaluable contribution to
American art as both a songwriter and a performer, leaving an indelible legacy
in bluegrass music.