Earl Eugene Scruggs was an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a three-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. Although other musicians had played in three-finger style before him, Scruggs shot to prominence when he was hired by Bill Monroe to fill the banjo slot in his group, the Blue Grass Boys. Scruggs was born near Shelby, Cleveland County, North Carolina, to Georgia Lula Ruppe and George Elam Scruggs, a farmer and bookkeeper, who played banjo and died when Earl Scruggs was only 4. His older brothers Junie and Horace, plus his... two older sisters Eula Mae and Ruby Scruggs all played banjo and guitar. Earl Scruggs mother played the organ. He grew up in Cleveland County, North Carolina. Scruggs joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in late 1945, and quickly popularized his syncopated, three-finger picking style. In 1948 Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt left Monroe's band and formed the Foggy Mountain Boys, also later known simply as Flatt and Scruggs.
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| Birthdate: | January 6, 1924 |
| Birthplace: | North Carolina |
| Date of death: | March 28, 2012 |
| Also known as: | Earl Eugene Scruggs, Scruggs, Earl |