Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs didn’t invent the banjo, but musicians and music historians credit him as the person who liberated the instrument from its preconceived limitations—not unlike Jimi Hendrix did for the guitar or Paganini for the violin. Before Scruggs, the banjo was played in a “claw hammer” or “thumping” style, but his pioneering syncopated rhythmic technique fused with the then-new three-finger picking style, became one of the signatures with which Bill Monroe perfected his bluegrass sound.

That alone would be enough to assure Scruggs’ immortality, but that was just the start of a genre-bending career spanning nearly seven decades.

As a continuation of the year-long celebration honoring the musical icon’s 80th birthday, The Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville will salute Scruggs with Banjo Man, a major exhibit in the museum’s East Gallery opening March 4.

Scruggs’ opus, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” is commonly referred to as the “bluegrass national anthem.” But he was also pivotal in bridging the cultural gap between country music and rock ’n’ roll audiences, helping to elevate the perception of bluegrass from mere hillbilly music to a revered American art form.

With the encouragement of his visionary wife, Louise, Scruggs and long-time partner Lester Flatt played the important folk festivals of the late ’50s and early ’60s with the likes of Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and a young Bob Dylan. They also performed at some of the giant pop festivals later in the ’60s. Some of the posters for these events, drawn in the revolutionary psychedelic-art style that reflected the turbulent era, are included here. To see Flatt & Scruggs listed on a bill between Procol Harum and Hugh Masekela still seems radical.

In the ’70s, Scruggs teamed up with his sons and continued to challenge and blur the lines between bluegrass, country and rock, recording many great albums and touring the world as The Earl Scruggs Revue. This underrated period is amply represented at the exhibit with numerous items, from promotional posters to high-heeled boots and other stage clothing that reflects the trends of the decade.