[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING EARL SCRUGGS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2012

  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life 
and legacy of Earl Scruggs, who passed away on March 28, 2012. He was a 
noted banjo player whose style changed the way the banjo is played and 
whose music will endure for generations.
  Born on January 6, 1924 in western North Carolina, Scruggs came into 
a musical family. His parents, brothers and sisters all had musical 
talents and traditional music was heard all around him. His love for 
music started at an early age after watching his older brothers master 
the banjo, which promoted his interest in playing. The support and 
practice he received at home with his family produced an artist who 
would go on to leave an indelible mark on traditional American and 
bluegrass music.
  Scruggs began his remarkable 67-year career in music in 1945 when he 
began playing with Bill Monroe, the father of Bluegrass music, and his 
band the Blue Grass Boys. On these earliest recordings, his peculiar 
style of playing the banjo, which brought out a syncopated rolling 
rhythm using three fingers as opposed to the old ``clawhammer'' style, 
was immediately recognized as a fresh approach to playing the 
instrument. This style has been imitated by so many players that today 
it is referred to as the ``Scruggs style'' and is the preferred style 
among many musicians in traditional and bluegrass music. Bluegrass 
music is an essential part of the heritage of my congressional district 
in Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and many of the musicians in my 
region were influenced by him and play the banjo in his style.
  In 1948, Scruggs joined forces with band mate Lester Flatt to form 
Flatt & Scruggs, and the two played together for over 20 years. In the 
1970s, he formed the band Earl Scruggs Revue and expanded his audiences 
into genres where the banjo is not commonly heard, and even shared the 
stage with many folk, rock, and pop acts of the time, broadening the 
reach of traditional and bluegrass music. Even those who are not 
familiar with bluegrass music have likely heard Scruggs' playing on 
``The Ballad of Jed Clampett,'' which was the theme song for The 
Beverly Hillbillies television program, as well as his Grammy Award 
winning ``Foggy Mountain Breakdown.''
  Earl Scruggs was a two time Grammy Award winner, inducted into the 
Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor, as 
well as a recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1992. His presence 
on stage will be sorely missed, but his music will last for many years 
to come.

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