I like this. But I believe there is too many roles. In bluegrass, I like to hear the melody of songs. Such as: Clawhammer brings out the melody. Clawhammer is the original way to play a banjo and it is the first way. Clawhammer is the real way to play a 5 string banjo.
Many folks believe 3 finger is the first way; clawhammer is the original way to play the banjo.
My childhood growing up in Nashville was spent every Saturday night in front of the TV, WSM-TV channel 4 at 6 p.m. watching the Martha White Flat and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys show. Then later they would always do the Martha White program on the Opry at 8 p.m. which we listened to on the radio.
we have done very little to improve on the core of bluegrass since the 1950's. It's fancier now and more complicated chord changes but the core / bounce is usually lost. These folks had genius talent, fueled by the finest white lightening in each city.
@Floriday2 you said that right brother. When I'm in the mood for some real good bluegrass, it still put on Flatt and Scruggs or Reno and Smiley and sometimes Ralph Stanley. Yeah a lot of what is done today is fancier but it doesn't feel as good. I mean what makes YOU feel better, Earl Scruggs picking Cripple Creek or Bela Fleck playing The Jazz Opus in A Minor?
I vote up and it never shows. Maybe that's why there aren't many green thumbs up anymore, since YT changed the format. What's going on ? I Love Shortenin' Bread !
Awesome video! No one will ever match up to Earl Scruggs! He revolutionized the 3 finger picking style! Doug Dillard, Tony Trishka, and Bela Fleck are very good musicians, but Scruggs not only tops them all, he inspired them too!
I'm a metal head but my family comes from blue grass. People that dont know this is extreme heavy metal! Play all this on a distorted guitar and you have made Metal !
Make Me Home Sick,I can Smell the Hog shit,and Fresh Cut Corn,Sweet peas are a watin to be picked,And Mommas ShortBread,Listenin to the Guys Play,made me learn how to Play Gutar,and sing.Hell ifin Ya played the Banjo,Whos going to talk to the girls!LOve These Guys!They were the Best,Not many left that want to learn Banjo,or Just about any instraments,They want to Sample someone eles Music,put a Rap to it,And call it Done.Just Never Stop Playin Music,Pass It On!
hehehe... i love how earl scruggs just stands there with a smug look like he's bored, while pickin' one of the meanest banjos ever. he makes it look way too easy.
@xrbekind Bela Fleck or Jens Kruger?? Do you mean they play these songs in this style better than Earl?? I've heard some guys come close to Earl like J. D. Crow but nobody has topped Earl with this kind of playing. I'm a big Don Reno fan, but that is Reno style not Scruggs style.
this style of playing is very old. me as a banjo player can copy what he is doing in this video to a tea. his style is the BASE of 3 finger picking on the banjo, many other's are much more talented on the then earl. but yes he did create it. just more have perfected playing the banjo... ever heard the joke " how many banjo players does it take to screw in a light bulb? answer. 5. cause one does it and the other 4 argue about how earl would of done it. lol
@xrbekind But you missed my point. Nobody plays this style better than Earl did back in the day. Don Reno told me the same thing." Listen to Earl for this style." Reno also said that Earl actually was a bit different that all other players he had heard and that he could pick Earl's picking out of a dozen players playing at the same time. Bela Fleck bores me after three or four songs but Earl always sounds fun.
@xrbekind Also Don Reno's style is unique. Nobody today seems to be doing it much. Most of what I hear is the basic Scruggs style (and they still don't sound like Earl, only J. D. Crowe come very close) with some modern type licks mixed in. On the bluegrass show I hear at night, all the banjo players sound about the same. Back in the day you could tell Earl from Reno and Reno from Ralph Stanley and him from Doug Dillard.
Someday God will ask Earl Scruggs to teach His angels how to play the banjo. If there is good music played in Heaven, it must be something like this, with Paul Warren on his incomparable fiddle! Did you ever heard anything so perfect?
This is the best sounding music ever. I remember seeing them on the Beverly Hillbillies as a kid. I play guitar but not as good as these fine souls from Nashville.
Re: Hand Brake joke . . Doesn't that date from the days when those boys would travel up and down those hills back in the mountains . . Sounds like somebody had the brakes go out one time and used the emergency to get their vehicle down the mountain . . uhhhh . . been there . . : >) !
Anybody remember the opening for the Grand Ole Opry "its the Grand Ole Opry, letter go boys" I want to hear it. Does anyone know where to find it? Please drop me a line if you do. thanks
listen to him strum on the banjo...the tone,the touch...im telling you banjo players are forgetting the basics nowadays...theres just a few players that have earls touch
smooth as silk, gotta love the thumb drops! the precision in which these guys played may never be duplicated. note the clean cut appearance, much different than today's rag-tag look. definitely a class act, Flatt and Scruggs!
Bill Monroe was an average at best, and without Flatt and Scruggs would not even be on the map. Don't misunderstand, he was quite the song writer and visionary - and ever the consumate professional.
But clearly, it's the three-finger banjo pickin style of Earl Scruggs that distinguishes bluegrass music.
Back when reel-to-reel was the recording method of choice. No cassette or 8-track. No FM radio. Our radio had an FM band but there were no stations to receive at this time. Interstate highways were few and far between. For those of you on the East coast over 45 years old, you remember when no I-95 existed. Lot simpler times.
The Out Of Town Boys do sound good and they play the same style as this band, but I'm afraid F&S and the FMB are in a league of their own. Any comparisons is enormous compliment. These boys are the original standard and are revered by anyone who has ever tried to the play this music. I'm sure the Out Of Town Boys are very pleased with your comparisons, and you're doing a fine job getting people to at least take a look at them.
Oh, I agree with you 100%. F&S were awesome and they deserve every accolade anyone can think up. No argument from me, there. But sadly, there are not many bands who still copy their wonderful style. I was just trying to shed a little credit to this band I found who seems to believe in them too.
It's just mechanic slang...a metephor from music to mechanics...a mechanic is good at working on cars, and doing things to a car...like applying the hand brake smoothly...because we've (mechanics) have done it so much....lester has done what he's done so much he's very good and smooth at it...thats what he meant....it was kinda corny..but hey this is 50 years ago
These guys were right with the best ever. Where did all these good bands go? Now we mostly got a bunch of liberal wimps playing jazzgrass, wimpgrass and pansygrass. Having said that - FYI, check out "The Out Of Town Boys" who are still out there playin' it right.
the people on the Grand Ol' Opry seem to be very well-dressed and responsible people...not like hippy dirty people you see on SNL's music slot...or other TV shows today...
Agree. But to be fair, good ol' Hank Williams got kicked off the Opry for various reasons just before he died. Rock and roll never changes, and the rebels get the boot. Love Hank!!!
That's hard to say. Manufacturing processes are much more consistent now. For many years, the one thing the Gibson banjos were known for was inconsistent sound. There were great ones and others that were dead. Companies like Nechville, Crafters of Tennessee, and Huber are putting out some fantastic (but expensive) banjos that are much more consistent than many of the older instruments and are played by some of the best in the business.
It all about setup. I have a 76 Mastertone with a great neck but the tone ring and rim were junk at that time. I got a 3 ply maple rim and a Stull 4 tone ring and when its working it sounds great as all my pickin friend tell me.
Banjo's aren't really instruments they're machines - everything tight. Earl did all his own setup and his rule on head tightening was tighten it till it breaks and then back it off a half turn. - Ha
A classic little sampler, from the 6 volume DVD set of this Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole' Opry TV Series, 1956-64, which has now been releasd on Shenachie Records. So go for it, and soak up the 6 volumes. Man this stiff id just FANTASTIC - Lester & Earl + the Foggy Mnt Boys at their peak. Uncle Josh + Cousin Jake - I love you guys, man !!
Which would explain why I hate every banjo version of Wildwood Flower except the Stanley brothers version. And also the reason I would rather hear earl pick a guitar on a gopsel tune rather than the banjo.
You can now purchase 6 volumes of these "Flatt & Scruggs Martha White Grand Ole Opry" DVD's on Shanachie Records. Go get 'em - long lost footage of Lester & Earl & the Foggy Mountain Boys at their peak !! My favourites in the band are Uncle Josh & Cousin Jake !!
Earl calls it a "banjer." He has the right, though. He invented, or at least, brought the 5 string style into major prominence. He is regarded as a pioneer in American music. If he calls it a "banjer," a "banjer" it is.
Thanks for the rare and historic video! As a child growing up in rural WV coal mining country in the '50's, my dad, a gifted musician himself, always watched Flatt and Scruggs on black and white TV. One of my most vivid impressions of them as a child was the dobro player with the crooked hat!
Only later did I learn to appreciate their talent!
Melbrooksisgod et al: You can buy these old Martha White Shows on DVD. Do a search on Amazon or Ebay (the likes) for Flatt and Scruggs DVDs. Watch Polka on a Banjo on youtube to see another great rendition.
That is my great great grandpa! My name is Brianne Scruggs
VideoGame602 1 month ago
SRUGGS
jebusman123 3 months ago
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I like this. But I believe there is too many roles. In bluegrass, I like to hear the melody of songs. Such as: Clawhammer brings out the melody. Clawhammer is the original way to play a banjo and it is the first way. Clawhammer is the real way to play a 5 string banjo.
Many folks believe 3 finger is the first way; clawhammer is the original way to play the banjo.
Appalachianbluegras2 3 months ago
my name is Ben Scruggs.....
supacrazyy2mlr 4 months ago
Oops, keyslip. Shortnin' Bread was I believe a black-originated, though non-blues, uptempo ditty from the classic string band era.
johntechwriter 5 months ago
Scruggs shorting bread
johntechwriter 5 months ago
I have this cranked.
laurierchick11 5 months ago
Amazing amazing....
Fredrika25m 5 months ago
Was that Shortnin' Bread? Lovely banjo and fiddle. Wonder how the dobro and mandolin fell out of the mix.
dingoswamphead 5 months ago
love bluegrass. going to see ricky skaggs on aug 26 at watseka theatre watseka illinois
rocmaven 5 months ago
4 folks cant tell a good banjo player from their grandmothers wind-chime.
WKRPinCINN 6 months ago 3
Though some of these fine performer's are pickin' in the sky, Martha White still has both feet on terra-firma and is making flour to this day.
capie44 7 months ago
if they still played this at the Grand ole Opry id tune in for every show
Ardamass 8 months ago
I love Earl's viewpoint of this tune....iffn ya kin break the standard...why not?
Earache2009 8 months ago
king of the 3 finger pick, best bluegrass to this day!!
roffus420 9 months ago
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It took me a week to get this song out of my head
georgiafiretrucks 9 months ago
It took me a week to get this tune out of my head. Great song!
georgiafiretrucks 9 months ago
music was goood before we got the multicult sickness.
glennwhitemen1488 10 months ago
Finest 3-finger banjo man that ever was, and ever will be!
BeadStallcup 11 months ago
he's the reason i got a janjo when i was a kig. for my b-day a got an epiphone mb - 250.
napalmvoododaddy 11 months ago
The Flatt And Scruggs are my favorite bluegrass band.
sponyge 11 months ago
earl scruggs is one of the coolest musicians ever
buchananstreet 1 year ago
My childhood growing up in Nashville was spent every Saturday night in front of the TV, WSM-TV channel 4 at 6 p.m. watching the Martha White Flat and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys show. Then later they would always do the Martha White program on the Opry at 8 p.m. which we listened to on the radio.
MrHarveyluke 1 year ago
You Boys look and smell like "City-Boys" all clean shaven and perfumed...
Diogenes1360 1 year ago
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single bridals here naneedj.info
janakisaman 1 year ago
God said let there be banjos and there was Earl........
LeFeff 1 year ago 2
"Shortnin' Bread," by Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.
sandyrothman 1 year ago
You just can't beat Earl
nasty5oh 1 year ago
Bluegrass is Real Soul Music!!!
Malcmcm 1 year ago
we have done very little to improve on the core of bluegrass since the 1950's. It's fancier now and more complicated chord changes but the core / bounce is usually lost. These folks had genius talent, fueled by the finest white lightening in each city.
Floriday2 1 year ago
@Floriday2 you said that right brother. When I'm in the mood for some real good bluegrass, it still put on Flatt and Scruggs or Reno and Smiley and sometimes Ralph Stanley. Yeah a lot of what is done today is fancier but it doesn't feel as good. I mean what makes YOU feel better, Earl Scruggs picking Cripple Creek or Bela Fleck playing The Jazz Opus in A Minor?
boblackey1 1 year ago
@boblackey1 I'm gonna go with Earl Scruggs playing Cripple Creek.
bigmrclean 11 months ago
Earl scruggs "The sound of bluegrass"
dwarf2 1 year ago
whats the name of that song?
Mrdillon385 1 year ago
@Mrdillon385 The name of that song is "Short'n Bread".
BeadStallcup 1 year ago
I vote up and it never shows. Maybe that's why there aren't many green thumbs up anymore, since YT changed the format. What's going on ? I Love Shortenin' Bread !
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 1 year ago
Awesome video! No one will ever match up to Earl Scruggs! He revolutionized the 3 finger picking style! Doug Dillard, Tony Trishka, and Bela Fleck are very good musicians, but Scruggs not only tops them all, he inspired them too!
Deutsch1cls 1 year ago
It's like listening to magic.... :-)
Amberol 1 year ago
I'm a metal head but my family comes from blue grass. People that dont know this is extreme heavy metal! Play all this on a distorted guitar and you have made Metal !
matmcghee 1 year ago
Make Me Home Sick,I can Smell the Hog shit,and Fresh Cut Corn,Sweet peas are a watin to be picked,And Mommas ShortBread,Listenin to the Guys Play,made me learn how to Play Gutar,and sing.Hell ifin Ya played the Banjo,Whos going to talk to the girls!LOve These Guys!They were the Best,Not many left that want to learn Banjo,or Just about any instraments,They want to Sample someone eles Music,put a Rap to it,And call it Done.Just Never Stop Playin Music,Pass It On!
Lizard5571 1 year ago
Comment removed
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 1 year ago
The problem with this video is its way to short
rushwb 1 year ago 2
What does that whole 'shady tree mechanic' joke mean?
dshupp 1 year ago
Wow this is real music ! :D
HunBountyHunter007 1 year ago
hehehe... i love how earl scruggs just stands there with a smug look like he's bored, while pickin' one of the meanest banjos ever. he makes it look way too easy.
gjfb427 1 year ago 2
Never was, and never will be, a better 3-fingered picking banjo player than Earl Scruggs. That's just the long and the short of it.
MrRonnieG 1 year ago 3
yep.... he is the best
sixfourwm 1 year ago
@MrRonnieG type in bela fleck.. or jens kruger
xrbekind 1 year ago
@xrbekind Bela Fleck or Jens Kruger?? Do you mean they play these songs in this style better than Earl?? I've heard some guys come close to Earl like J. D. Crow but nobody has topped Earl with this kind of playing. I'm a big Don Reno fan, but that is Reno style not Scruggs style.
boblackey1 1 year ago
@boblackey1
this style of playing is very old. me as a banjo player can copy what he is doing in this video to a tea. his style is the BASE of 3 finger picking on the banjo, many other's are much more talented on the then earl. but yes he did create it. just more have perfected playing the banjo... ever heard the joke " how many banjo players does it take to screw in a light bulb? answer. 5. cause one does it and the other 4 argue about how earl would of done it. lol
xrbekind 1 year ago
@xrbekind But you missed my point. Nobody plays this style better than Earl did back in the day. Don Reno told me the same thing." Listen to Earl for this style." Reno also said that Earl actually was a bit different that all other players he had heard and that he could pick Earl's picking out of a dozen players playing at the same time. Bela Fleck bores me after three or four songs but Earl always sounds fun.
boblackey1 1 year ago
@xrbekind Also Don Reno's style is unique. Nobody today seems to be doing it much. Most of what I hear is the basic Scruggs style (and they still don't sound like Earl, only J. D. Crowe come very close) with some modern type licks mixed in. On the bluegrass show I hear at night, all the banjo players sound about the same. Back in the day you could tell Earl from Reno and Reno from Ralph Stanley and him from Doug Dillard.
boblackey1 1 year ago
good stuff.....love it
mrjoshjag 1 year ago 2
This show was broadcast 50 years ago in 1960 and Earl Scruggs is still the best there ever was!
SmerkNomGool 1 year ago 28
And no fiddler can shade Paul Warren!
SmerkNomGool 1 year ago 3
@SmerkNomGool You are so right!
banjovi1953 1 year ago
@SmerkNomGool Yes, Earl is still going strong at about 85!!!!
pegcage 1 year ago
@SmerkNomGool Yes sir......By far!
bigmrclean 1 year ago
Who's pickin a banja here?
wmsfarris 1 year ago
@wmsfarris earl scruggs of course!
migasaguiar 1 year ago
Earl scruggs DUHHH lol
Master100Mind 1 year ago
YUDUMB?
nasty5oh 1 year ago
Someday God will ask Earl Scruggs to teach His angels how to play the banjo. If there is good music played in Heaven, it must be something like this, with Paul Warren on his incomparable fiddle! Did you ever heard anything so perfect?
BigRedMcCool 2 years ago 4
I just can't think of anything finer
srvfan454 2 years ago 3
Hey-----I wonder if Shortenin' Bread tastes as GOOD as it SOUNDS?
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 2 years ago 2
@CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL i doub it.
migasaguiar 1 year ago 2
Not a chance!!!
andy21918 1 year ago
His roll is perfection. Perfect timing!
banjovi1953 2 years ago 2
Wow! These fellers can really make music!
BigRedMcCool 2 years ago
so is this cripple creek??
NoahNaseri 2 years ago
This peice is called 'short'n bread'. No one can quite play it like Earl Scruggs!
BeadStallcup 2 years ago 7
@BeadStallcup Amen
banjovi1953 1 year ago 2
Amen, banjovi1953
BeadStallcup 1 year ago
I could listen to this man play the banjo everyday of my life and never get tire of it!
SImply the prettiest thing I ever heard!
BeadStallcup 2 years ago 35
@BeadStallcup Yes ! Earl is our favorite banjo picker too. He seems to be a real gentleman as well.
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 2 years ago 2
Earl was clean and smooth even at those speeds. That was and is still ''the sound''. I'm honored to have gotten to pick with him in 1973.
banjovi1953 2 years ago 6
@banjovi1953 I agree..This is as good as it gets..and I've never heard another banjo that sounds like that.
bigmrclean 2 years ago 2
nice
banjoell 2 years ago 2
Mr Scruggs is one cool cat.
Sawampbilly40 2 years ago 4
earl scruggs is best
banjoell 2 years ago 2
Comment removed
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 2 years ago
There was nothing average about Bill Monroe. And you have a lot of nerve making such a disrespectful remark!!
BigRedMcCool 2 years ago 6
Gotta love that 3 finger roll.
macfrederick 2 years ago 3
I absolutely do not get the hand brake thing. Maybe I'm a shade tree mechanic. Awesome music though.
mullerheinrich 2 years ago 2
They're just being funny, in their way, they used to have to truckload of those kinda remarks that sounded like something, but were just for humor...
BeadStallcup 2 years ago
He's the one that get's the group going and stops them.
bigmrclean 2 years ago
Nobody, but nobody could ever play the banjo like Earl Scruggs! Best there ever was, best there is, and best there ever will be!
BeadStallcup 2 years ago 3
This is the best sounding music ever. I remember seeing them on the Beverly Hillbillies as a kid. I play guitar but not as good as these fine souls from Nashville.
brotherdoug63 2 years ago 2
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - fantastic.
WTU208 2 years ago 2
Re: Hand Brake joke . . Doesn't that date from the days when those boys would travel up and down those hills back in the mountains . . Sounds like somebody had the brakes go out one time and used the emergency to get their vehicle down the mountain . . uhhhh . . been there . . : >) !
canyondogh 2 years ago
Am I the only one who doesn't get the "hand brake" joke?
md65000 2 years ago
i meant shortnen bread
owsleyforkmusic 2 years ago
Anybody remember the opening for the Grand Ole Opry "its the Grand Ole Opry, letter go boys" I want to hear it. Does anyone know where to find it? Please drop me a line if you do. thanks
slam95 2 years ago
God I love youtube!!!!
stothepizzle 2 years ago 3
Shortenin' Bread is the name of the song
frostbrewed1979 2 years ago
Anybody know where to find the tab for this one?
frostbrewed1979 2 years ago
whats the name of this song and i could tell u i have an earl scruggs tab book
owsleyforkmusic 2 years ago
'Shuckin' the Corn'
bluegrassrulz 2 years ago
nope its shortnen i just found it when i posted that comment
owsleyforkmusic 2 years ago
the intro song is 'Shuckin' the Corn'...that was the first song I heard when listening to the video and replied in regards to that one.
bluegrassrulz 2 years ago
where uncle Jed at?
crabtrap 2 years ago
This is a wonderful video! Thanks for posting it!
Is there any way to correct the spelling of Lester Flatt's name in the title? The tune is "Shortenin' Bread."
rblaustein 2 years ago 2
Comment removed
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 2 years ago
listen to him strum on the banjo...the tone,the touch...im telling you banjo players are forgetting the basics nowadays...theres just a few players that have earls touch
xXxLovexOrxDiexXx 2 years ago
smooth as silk, gotta love the thumb drops! the precision in which these guys played may never be duplicated. note the clean cut appearance, much different than today's rag-tag look. definitely a class act, Flatt and Scruggs!
therebel1960 2 years ago
@therebel1960 Yes, I love the clean-cut look of these gentlemen. Rag-tag youngins take note !
CARROLLCTYDOBROGIRL 2 years ago 5
HOT DAMN!!!!!
Str8eningTheCurves 2 years ago
scruggs is the man
itzjoeymac 2 years ago
It ain't all about speed, kids. Earl's picking is a clean as a whistle and very musical.
ztahs 2 years ago
There will never be anyone greater on the banjo than earl scruggs
wb375 2 years ago
Brilliant!
jimmystearn 2 years ago
Good lord that is amazing. It doesn't sound any better or get any smoother than this boysssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bigmrclean 2 years ago 2
Classic..... It simply doesn't get any better. This music will live forever!
pickupstix144 2 years ago
He is the fastest banjo picker on earth.
sponyge 2 years ago
I disagree earl is the fastest, He is the best but not the fastest, I think fastest pickers would be between don reno and raymond fairchild
wb375 2 years ago
Nobody better than Earl that's for sure.
capecodcoffeeman 2 years ago 6
I know that Bill Monroe came up with the name Bluegrass.
But these boys are the ones who came up with the actual music - Nicely done gentleman... nicely done.
GodsFavoriteBassPlyr 2 years ago 2
ummm....huh?
bluegrassrulz 2 years ago
Bill Monroe was an average at best, and without Flatt and Scruggs would not even be on the map. Don't misunderstand, he was quite the song writer and visionary - and ever the consumate professional.
But clearly, it's the three-finger banjo pickin style of Earl Scruggs that distinguishes bluegrass music.
GodsFavoriteBassPlyr 2 years ago
Bill Monroe was average at best? Never heard that before, and sure don't think that's true! Sure don't!
BeadStallcup 2 years ago 2
Thanks a million for posting this video...but I wish you had spelled Lester's surname correctly! How could you not notice?
elmar9 2 years ago 3
hot damn gets my feet tapin
banjoboy3789 2 years ago 8
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Hot Damn makes me wanna screw my cousin!!
jezx21 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Dam boy ah feels like screwin' you!!!
DirtyShirtBlue 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
You got a purty mouth boy....now squeal like a pig....weeeeeeee heeee heeeee
jezx21 2 years ago
oooook! for a nickle I will! yeeeeeeeeeeee
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
DirtyShirtBlue 2 years ago
Pick it !!!!!!!!!!! .
1Bandit455 2 years ago 3
1enzeder
You said it!
dawoool 3 years ago
Simpler days. So far from Banker bail outs, patriot acts, FEMA camps...
1enzeder 3 years ago 6
Fucking cell phones, trucks you can't fucking see around, Jessica Simpson . . .
mka800 2 years ago
Back when reel-to-reel was the recording method of choice. No cassette or 8-track. No FM radio. Our radio had an FM band but there were no stations to receive at this time. Interstate highways were few and far between. For those of you on the East coast over 45 years old, you remember when no I-95 existed. Lot simpler times.
ronaldt491 2 years ago
This is the 5 string MASTER!
pegcage 3 years ago 3
rippin!
DisposableHero187 3 years ago 3
Love that banjo playing!!! Yeeeee haw!
waddleduckie1 3 years ago 3
These guys are good. This is a lot like The Out Of Town Boys videos. Both bands sound much alike!
hillbillystill 3 years ago
The Out Of Town Boys do sound good and they play the same style as this band, but I'm afraid F&S and the FMB are in a league of their own. Any comparisons is enormous compliment. These boys are the original standard and are revered by anyone who has ever tried to the play this music. I'm sure the Out Of Town Boys are very pleased with your comparisons, and you're doing a fine job getting people to at least take a look at them.
nebadin 3 years ago
Well said, seriously, I agree completly.
ladleslag 3 years ago 2
Oh, I agree with you 100%. F&S were awesome and they deserve every accolade anyone can think up. No argument from me, there. But sadly, there are not many bands who still copy their wonderful style. I was just trying to shed a little credit to this band I found who seems to believe in them too.
TruegrassBoy 3 years ago
I don't get that...a shady tree mechanic...good on the hand break...can someone explain what that means?
dudemantwo 3 years ago
It may have something to do with running moonshine....just a guess.
kingsalad1969 3 years ago
It's just mechanic slang...a metephor from music to mechanics...a mechanic is good at working on cars, and doing things to a car...like applying the hand brake smoothly...because we've (mechanics) have done it so much....lester has done what he's done so much he's very good and smooth at it...thats what he meant....it was kinda corny..but hey this is 50 years ago
bigmrclean 3 years ago 3
Check out "The Out Of Town Boys" videos. They sound a lot like these guys esp. on I'm Waiting To Hear You Call Me Darling.
HonkyBlonky 3 years ago
These guys were right with the best ever. Where did all these good bands go? Now we mostly got a bunch of liberal wimps playing jazzgrass, wimpgrass and pansygrass. Having said that - FYI, check out "The Out Of Town Boys" who are still out there playin' it right.
TruegrassBoy 3 years ago
the people on the Grand Ol' Opry seem to be very well-dressed and responsible people...not like hippy dirty people you see on SNL's music slot...or other TV shows today...
dudemantwo 3 years ago 2
Yup!!
TheKink1974 3 years ago
Agree. But to be fair, good ol' Hank Williams got kicked off the Opry for various reasons just before he died. Rock and roll never changes, and the rebels get the boot. Love Hank!!!
Garveergor 3 years ago
Earl you is da man! I got to pick with him and he is like that, on stage and off. He had the ''touch''.
banjovi1953 3 years ago 2
fancy graphics
dudemantwo 3 years ago
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where is the colonel sanders?
sylvano81 3 years ago
Man just listen to the sound of Earl's banjo.
They don't make them like that anymore.
OSCAR82AA 3 years ago 4
That's hard to say. Manufacturing processes are much more consistent now. For many years, the one thing the Gibson banjos were known for was inconsistent sound. There were great ones and others that were dead. Companies like Nechville, Crafters of Tennessee, and Huber are putting out some fantastic (but expensive) banjos that are much more consistent than many of the older instruments and are played by some of the best in the business.
jocwalk 3 years ago
I agree, I would love to have a Huber. That is a great banjo. Alot of that banjo sound was because Earl Scruggs was a holding that banjo.
OSCAR82AA 3 years ago
Yep, that's true. Earl probably had at least a little to do with how that thing sounded. :) As for my guitar playing, it has to be the guitar. ;)
jocwalk 3 years ago
It all about setup. I have a 76 Mastertone with a great neck but the tone ring and rim were junk at that time. I got a 3 ply maple rim and a Stull 4 tone ring and when its working it sounds great as all my pickin friend tell me.
Banjo's aren't really instruments they're machines - everything tight. Earl did all his own setup and his rule on head tightening was tighten it till it breaks and then back it off a half turn. - Ha
pmcd6325 2 years ago
Tell me how you cut your rim to fit that long skirt Stull #4 ? I know it is a great ring.
OSCAR82AA 2 years ago
me and my uncle watched the dvd he's got of this and we couldnt help but laugh at the adverts in between them same there missed out
pelp321 3 years ago
It's not the speed that gets me, nor the precision. It's that he's looking at the camera and almost smiling while he's doing it.
fastrnb 3 years ago
Do you have the release of Flatt and Scrugg's Don't Think Twice, Its All Right......? I am looking for it.
waddleduckie1 3 years ago
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i bet they were all related
stonedinsect 3 years ago
Listening to that makes me think about Branson... lol
RockinREDNECKREBEL 3 years ago
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WTF?? lol
lazyoldjack 3 years ago
A classic little sampler, from the 6 volume DVD set of this Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole' Opry TV Series, 1956-64, which has now been releasd on Shenachie Records. So go for it, and soak up the 6 volumes. Man this stiff id just FANTASTIC - Lester & Earl + the Foggy Mnt Boys at their peak. Uncle Josh + Cousin Jake - I love you guys, man !!
colindominy 3 years ago
One of the best Bluegrass bands ever.
dreadnought45 3 years ago 4
I wish I could do anything near as well as he plays banjo.
Gorgorath78 3 years ago
anyone know the name of this tune?
Aubergineberger 3 years ago
Lester Flat very quickly gives the name at the start: "Shortenin' Bread."
wideo80 3 years ago
Which would explain why I hate every banjo version of Wildwood Flower except the Stanley brothers version. And also the reason I would rather hear earl pick a guitar on a gopsel tune rather than the banjo.
Rcksaltnnails 3 years ago
You can now purchase 6 volumes of these "Flatt & Scruggs Martha White Grand Ole Opry" DVD's on Shanachie Records. Go get 'em - long lost footage of Lester & Earl & the Foggy Mountain Boys at their peak !! My favourites in the band are Uncle Josh & Cousin Jake !!
colindominy 3 years ago
Powerful banjo!!!!
RockyMountsDude 3 years ago
my gosh he is freakin amazing on the 5 string. He is smoother than anyone has ever been. U cant even put anyone in this guys class.
bigmrclean 3 years ago
Earl calls it a "banjer." He has the right, though. He invented, or at least, brought the 5 string style into major prominence. He is regarded as a pioneer in American music. If he calls it a "banjer," a "banjer" it is.
pegcage 3 years ago
Thanks for the rare and historic video! As a child growing up in rural WV coal mining country in the '50's, my dad, a gifted musician himself, always watched Flatt and Scruggs on black and white TV. One of my most vivid impressions of them as a child was the dobro player with the crooked hat!
Only later did I learn to appreciate their talent!
pattywolford 3 years ago
'The reason is that his play was and is considered pretty mediocre when compared to guys like Reno and Scruggs.'
Us players who did model ourselves after Ralph's playing feel the same way about Scruggs.
archtop57 3 years ago
Melbrooksisgod et al: You can buy these old Martha White Shows on DVD. Do a search on Amazon or Ebay (the likes) for Flatt and Scruggs DVDs. Watch Polka on a Banjo on youtube to see another great rendition.
pegcage 3 years ago
Whats the name of that tune Earl's playing? I LOVE IT!
lilreb601 3 years ago
Shortening Bread
carteru93 3 years ago
Banjo Lessons do they sound good?
sponyge 3 years ago
I always love watching Earls deadpan expression. It's classic!
armo1963 3 years ago
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Whoknows what Zoboomafoo is?
sponyge 3 years ago