Banjo innovator Earl Scruggs
Musicians in Nashville and beyond are paying tribute to banjo legend Earl Scruggs, who passed away Wednesday at age of 88.
Bluegrassers like Sam Bush and Jon Randall Stewart celebrated him at the Tin Pan South songwriters’ conference. WSM DJ Eddie Stubbs dedicated his program to Scruggs Wednesday night.
On Twitter, actor and Banjo player Steve Martin called Scruggs, “the most important banjo player who ever lived.” Martin collaborated with Scruggs on an album in 2001.
Last year, fellow banjo master Bela Fleck told WPLN that Scruggs’ playing was the reason he first picked up the instrument. At the time, he was getting ready to premiere a concerto for banjo and orchestra, dedicated to Earl Scruggs.
“Despite the fact that Earl for a lot of people is considered the tradition and I might be considered the modernist, Earl has never looked at it that way. He considers himself an innovator, so, I don’t know, I was telling him that I felt like this whole piece was a result of everything that he’s done. All the roads that he’s opened up have lead to the roads that I’ve walked.”
Scruggs is credited with developing his own picking style that bares his name. Besides being a technical innovator, his songwriting earned him fame.
In a 2009 interview on American Routes, Scruggs recalled working with Warren Beatty on the movie Bonnie and Clyde.
“He called one day and wanted me to write a score for a movie. Day or two after that, he called and said forget about wanting me to write a score, said, ‘I found what I want.’ And he had found our first recording of ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown.’”
Scruggs also played the famous theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show.
A memorial service will be held Sunday afternoon at Ryman Auditorium.
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