Earl Scruggs (banjo genius) Interview in 2002

World famous banjo player Earl Scruggs stops in to talk about everything from the beginning to 2002. You will hear a lot of great stories about the world of music and what it took to be a famous banjo genius. How he and Lester Flatt made it happen back in the day.

[@oldcremona]

Earl is so thoughtful and sincere with his answers, no ego or attitude.

[@hollywoodjoe123]

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[@Stevespoken]

Thank God for Earl he brought a lot of people joy

[@frankmoon9350]

I love that Earl asks Lousie Scruggs the tough questions.

[@centerice]

Have picked the banjo my whole life and knew that Earl had come up with the 3 finger style, but had no idea it came to him by accident while "parlor picking" by himself 2-finger style on the tune, "Reuben." That is VERY important historical knowledge!

[@tommylamb5306]

Very glad to say that the Farm an Fun time is still on the air! Brought to you by Kody Norris band from Mt City Tenn!

[@samtertipis7219]

Earl Scruggs - the Jimi Hendrix of the Banjo

[@lemmykilmister9979]

Amen to that!

[@artnouveau4332]

Also Bela Fleck

[@Bascomblodge]

You mean Jimi Hendrix, the Earl Scruggs of guitar...right?

[@randalclarke5487]

Exactly

[@grant5603]

Nice sentiment, but Earl changed banjo playing more than Hendrix changed guitar playing. Hendrix was obviously revolutionary, but his style was still very rooted in earlier blues guitarists. Earl really invented his own thing

[@kerryburns6041]

My ambition is to rise to the position of the second worst banjo picker in the cosmos, and Mr Scruggs is my inspiration. He was, and remains the best.

[@Ootazfromda03]

He is the STANDARD banjo players ppl look up too for inspiration

[@billcrotts5456]

I could listen to Earl talk all day

[@treymerrill6993]

Jacks exactly right. I’ve interviewed many musicians and an interview should feel like a conversation. This is the exact reason most musians HATE doing interviews because most interviewers SUCK. When I first started out, I was doing the same thing with Dr Hooks Ray Sawyer and he said, why don’t you put the pen and paper away and let’s just get drunk. I kept the tape player rolling for the next 4 hours I got more information that I would ever have gotten otherwise. That’s how I learned. If you let musicians talk then most of them will keep on talking and tell you stories that you would never have thought of (although I’ve heard Earl was pretty shy).

[@writerrad]

this guy interviewing doesnt know much about bluegrass or playing the banjo he has a list someone else made for him. Earl isnt very energetic or concerned with answering him either.

[@AFACF]

A commonality it seems amongst southerners is we're very perceptive as to whether the person asking the question is more interested in the answer or in asking the questions. The answers will get shorter when it is apparent little genuine interest is shown. Also, when one is being told what they did or have done but it is phrased as a statement of fact rather than in the form of a question, that can be awkward to respond to. It begs the response, "you seem to know more about me than I do so maybe I should be interviewing you." but of course that would be thought but never said out loud by someone with good manners. Earl takes the difference in cultures here in stride. Wasn't his first rodeo. But far more could have come out of this with less script and more attentiveness. Stories left untold. Still I thank the interviewer for documenting this and posting it for us all to see and enjoy.

[@jackiemayo6260]

Earl scruggs has been a favorite banjo player of mine for 55 years. i live 22 miles from where earl lived in boiling springs n.c. i remember the 1st time i seen earl scruggs play banjo was in 1960 something. he came on author smith tv show. and of coarse he played foggy mountain breakdown. from that day i wanted to play banjo. i have never met or seen earl in person, but i can tell he is a one of a kind. and genuine, i would not think you could find anyone as interesting and gentle as earl. i could not wait til Friday nites for the grand ole opry on radio am channel wsam in Nashville tenn. to see if earl was there performing. R.I.P. Earl, the master of the 5 string banjo lives on forever.

[@Robbylester]

Get you some ralph stanley

[@timsebastian5758]

RIP Earl Scruggs!

[@tellfile]

Those magic fingers of his, smooth and machine like.

[@billlawson5571]

There will never be anybody like him again, many have tried but nobody’s got the drive in the music and the confidence he had it’s, still amazing

[@oldcremona]

And his sincerity and humility as a person, you could not find a better role model.

[@hollywoodjoe123]

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[@joseangelcoronado7638]

Para mí Earl fue el mejor ,todavía escucho su musica

[@writerrad]

Earl had a bunch of banjos and by the time of this interviewed had marketed Earl Scruggs banjos with several different makers

[@PickingBluegrassMusic]

Like Marty Stuart jokingly said to Earl on a show after listing all of Earl's awards, "The only award Earl has not won is Female Vocalist of the Year." Earl got a kick out of that.

[@writerrad]

Everyone in the original Foggy Mountain Boys was in Monroe's band. Basically Earl and Lester didnt think they could adequately support their families on the money. Earl was thinking of going back into the Carolina Cotton Mills at that point with his family started when he learned Lester also was leaving the band to get better money.

[@dabneyoffermein595]

yep,,, it really came down to money most of the time for boys like he was. think about how many good musicians gave up because they couldn't get a contract and never played again, or only played recreationally

[@Scott-pv2gu]

Happy Birthday Earl

[@NathanRobinson-cy2ln]

you know he died a in 2012 right

[@guaporeturns9472]

Earl is the man.

[@jamesevans9007]

Interviewing requires skill, attention to the flow of the responses, and to the nuances of the conversation. The questions are only a framework, a starting point on which to build an exchange of real substance. This interviewer is lacking the essential qualities that could have made this conversation with the great Earl Scruggs a good deal more interesting and memorable.

[@rawdoggin125]

THANK YOU! dont like that lame

[@emmettfenton2821]

d I am 7 7 7fly

[@emmettfenton2821]

fb

[@emmettfenton2821]

8 yoo

[@emmettfenton2821]

Touch and hold a clip to pin it. Unpinned clips will be deleted after 1 hour.Touch and hold a clip to pinqwr it. Unpinned clips will be deletlp jed after 1 hour.

[@Pickinbuddy]

Really enjoyed this, Herb--Earl's still one of my biggest musical heroes! Your Pal, Bill Turner

[@demetriusjaylen8349]

you all probably dont care but does anyone know a way to log back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any help you can give me.

[@mathiasuriel6002]

@Demetrius Jaylen Instablaster ;)

[@carvinlambert6899]

never be another!

[@CocoVonKokonut]

Right on, Lambert!

[@hollywoodjoe123]

GOD BLESS AMERICA - - GOD BLESS THE SCRUGGS FAMILY - -

[@MrRickpolston]

Great Interview !

[@tnelson4593]

WCYB Bristol participated in Network Broadcasting. Many of their radio programs were broadcast in those days were broadcast as far North as Southern Michigan. WKZO Kalamazoo WNIL Niles and WDOW- Dowagiac ,Mi just to name a few. The Detroit Area had numerous stations.WMAQ Chicago was the most powerful In later years .It was a powerful Country station. WMAQ in the 1960s their frequency became so powerful it was heard in every state East of the Rockies. WMAQ became news radio after Westinghouse Broadcasting bought it in 1988. WSM programs from Nashville were also broadcast from these stations because of Network Broadcasting.Saturday night Opry could be heard from participating stations. Many men from Appalachia went north to work in the Manufacturing towns from Chicago, Northern Indiana and along the New York Central Railroad through Southern Michigan towards Detroit in the 1950s and 60s.These men would tune a station in when the programs would come on. The music gave them a little taste of home. Even some of the homegrown Northerners enjoyed the music also.Because of Network Broadcasting they were able to listen to programs from WCYB and WSM.Their was also Network Broadcasting participating stations In Arkansas,Missouri,Mississippi, Texas, Ohio and Indiana.

[@stephenellis2866]

Uncle Floyd I saw him in the intro

[@jackvalentine566]

This seems like more than like an exam than an interview and he struggles to answer it’s a shame but a good questions I feel the interview maybe should of been a bit more relaxed

[@dabneyoffermein595]

where did he struggle to answer questions? i think the interviewer struggled to ASK the questions, perhaps that's what you meant?

[@jackvalentine566]

@@dabneyoffermein595 he struggled to answer questions about years ago that he just had fired at him. I think he should of prepared his questions better and taken into account he’s asking questions referring to events that taken place over 50 years ago

[@1linkbelt]

@@dabneyoffermein595 Interviewer had no skills.

[@writerrad]

Radio anywhere couldnt play records to make them sound as good as live music until the late 1940s. They were always looking for bands of any kind to play because they couldnt play records.

[@writerrad]

This is all pretty bizarre without starting with the mention of two important words "Bill Monroe"

[@tylerjohnson4635]

Yes

[@dennisrountree5376]

Funny how he didn’t answer the question about trading don reno banjos 🪕

[@stephenellis2866]

Uncle Floyd I saw him

[@MyRebel44]

How could you not mention the Bonnie and Clyde movie?

[@Robbylester]

Your crazy

[@harpoon_bakery162]

wow, he still looks so young in this interview. i bet he could play up some smoke on a Banjo even in 2002 and beyond. Didn't he live till like 2016 or something?

[@danielcollins247]

2013 I think

[@northsofa5520]

2012

[@marymartin165]

There is nothing wrong with just asking questions.

[@jamesevans9007]

In an interview such as this one, the question is only the starting point for what should be a flowing, informative conversation. Thanks almost wholly to the gracious and self-effacing Mr. Scruggs, this interview was pretty good, but it could have been so very much better in the hands of a more practiced interviewer.

[@pamelahay6242]

Yes, but sometimes interviewing someone as iconic as Earl can make an interviewer nervous. The questions generally are pretty good though (apart from those addressing some of the changes to music broadcasting over the years). But there are moments where the interviewer relaxes a bit and it becomes a little more conversational along the way. But the questions and Earl’s answers are full of gold nuggets and Earl ( a Louise’s) recall for historic facts and how things use to be are wonderfully informative. 😁

[@chrisjones2976]

Its Earl Scruggs. Give the man a break.

[@swvastories3498]

Actually WCYB still has music on its noon TV show.

[@KidNoah2012]

"Earl why did you have to play everything so goddamn fast"?

[@yuyewu4699]

(uneasily speaking) "good management. Y'all need good management" With his wife looking on stinky‐eyed. Haha

[@gerard9098]

What a poor interviewer ! Could have been so much better. If i were Earl i would have quit the crap ..

[@huliniswhoiam]

That's the thing about Earl though he cared about people he was patient with him. Says a lot about him.

[@dannyc1174]

TERRIBLE interview - Interviewer needs to educate himself then think about what should be asked. Throw away them cards! Plus...the interviewer has some misinformation - like Earl trading his RB-11 "mother of toilet seat" to Reno for Earl's Granada. Now this all being said, the interviewer did loosen up some....Earl does have some good info.

[@Themheals]

Many people did not know that Earl and Lester had a sexual relationship. This was kept very secret because of the time and the stigma that doesn't exist these days. Apparently is was a fiery and passionate union. He was an amazing man.