Foggy Mountain Banjo

Performer: Flatt & Scruggs
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: Flatt & Scruggs: Lester Flatt (vocals, guitar); Earl Scruggs (banjo, background vocals). Liner Note Author: Rich Kienzle. FOGGY MOUNTAIN BANJO (1961), one of Flatt and Scruggs's finest albums, was instrumental in turning on a new generation of bluegrass fans. (In addition to their success with Bill Monroe in the '40s and their solo successes in the '50s, Flatt and Scruggs contributed to the roots revival of the early-'60s). Even as their fan base expanded, however, Flatt and Scruggs continued to play the traditional old-time mountain music they'd always played, steadily refining their air-tight chemistry, close-knit harmonies, and the quicksilver energy of their blazing licks to unassailable perfection. Earl Scruggs's sheer dexterity on the banjo (particularly notable on "Ground Speed" and "Lonesome Road Blues") should be enough to keep listeners rapt for the 12 tracks on FOGGY MOUNTAIN BANJO. Lester Flatt's smooth flat-picked guitar, Josh Graves's dobro, Paul Warren's crying fiddle, and Buddy Harman's drumming also keep things in high gear throughout via dynamic interplay. The only drawback to the album is that it features none of the Foggy Mountain Boys' usual superb harmonizing--the record consists solely of instrumentals. This does not detract however, but rather foregrounds the band's technical prowess, making FOGGY MOUNTAIN BANJO a prime example of classic, all-instrumental bluegrass.

Guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs joined Bill Monroe's band in the mid-'40s, and helped create Monroe's signature sound, emphasizing a blend of down-home roots and breathtaking technical facility. Such was the pair's virtuosity that each had a banjo or guitar technique named after them. Flatt & Scruggs left Monroe's band in 1948 and started their own group, which proved to be a huge success, and did as much as Monroe's group to put bluegrass on the map outside the traditional country audience. The pair went their separate ways in 1969, after having spawned a whole new generation of disciples via the '60s folk boom. Flatt died in 1979, but Scruggs continued performing to much acclaim into the 21st century.

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