Earl Scruggs, the banjo-playing bluegrass legend best known for composing and singing the themes for The Beverly Hillbillies TV series and the Bonnie and Clyde movie, died of natural causes Wednesday in a Nashville hospital, his son Gary confirmed to CNN. Scruggs was 88.
Scruggs was born in 1924 in rural Cleveland County, N.C., a member of an extremely musically gifted family in which everyone played an instrument. Earl was no exception. He began playing the banjo at the ripe old age of 4 and by the time he was 10 had already started to develop his signature three-finger picking style -- which would influence bluegrass and country musicians for decades to come.
In 1945, he teamed up with fellow bluegrass musician Lester Flatt, and their storied collaboration would continue for almost a quarter of a century. In 1949 they wrote and recorded "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" (featuring an extended banjo solo by Scruggs), and the song became famous when it was featured as the chase music in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde.
However, the duo is best known for "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," the theme song for the CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. (In case you're having a hard time remembering the infectious tune, it starts off a little something like this: "Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Jed/A poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed...")
Scruggs and Flatt split up in 1969 to focus on their solo careers, and were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985. (Sadly, Flatt had passed away in 1979.)
Earl Scruggs married Anne Louise Certain in 1948 and was married to her for 57 years, until her death in 2006. Scruggs is survived by his sons Gary and Randy.
"I realize his popularity throughout the world went way beyond just bluegrass and country music," Gary Scruggs told CNN. "It was more than that." We would have to agree.
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/earl-scruggs-beverly-hillbillies-singer-dies-88/1-a-439896
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