Foggy Mountain Boys
Encyclopedia
The Foggy Mountain Boys were an influential bluegrass
band founded by Lester Flatt
and Earl Scruggs
in 1948, shortly after leaving Bill Monroe
’s band. They recorded and performed together up until 1969.
and Earl Scruggs
met as members of Bill Monroe
's band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1946. The two left that band early in 1948, and within a few months had formed their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Scruggs' banjo
style and Flatt's rhythm guitar style as well as his vocals, gave them a distinctive sound that won them many fans. In 1955, they became members of the Grand Ole Opry
. Many of the songs on their albums are credited to "Certain and Stacey". These songs were in fact written by Flatt, Scruggs, and various other members of the Foggy Mountain Boys. Certain and Stacey are the maiden names of the wives of Flatt and Scruggs (Louise Certain, wife of Earl Scruggs, and Gladys Stacey, wife of Lester Flatt).
Scruggs, who had always shown progressive
tendencies, experimented on duets with saxophonist King Curtis
and added songs by the likes of Bob Dylan
to the group's repertoire. Flatt, a traditionalist
, did not like these changes, and the group broke up in 1969. Following the breakup, Lester Flatt founded the Nashville Grass
and Scruggs lead the Earl Scruggs Revue. Flatt died in 1979 at the age of 64. Scruggs still performs occasionally, as his health permits. Flatt and Scruggs were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
In 2003, they ranked #24 on CMT
's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, one of only four non-solo artists to make the list (Eagles, Alabama
, and Brooks & Dunn
are the others).
In the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
, the band formed by the heroes is called the "Soggy Bottom Boys" as a tribute to the band.
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
band founded by Lester Flatt
Lester Flatt
Lester Raymond Flatt was a bluegrass musician and guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as "Flatt and Scruggs," with banjo picker Earl Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he...
and Earl Scruggs
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
in 1948, shortly after leaving Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
’s band. They recorded and performed together up until 1969.
Biography
Lester FlattLester Flatt
Lester Raymond Flatt was a bluegrass musician and guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as "Flatt and Scruggs," with banjo picker Earl Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he...
and Earl Scruggs
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
met as members of Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
's band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1946. The two left that band early in 1948, and within a few months had formed their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Scruggs' banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
style and Flatt's rhythm guitar style as well as his vocals, gave them a distinctive sound that won them many fans. In 1955, they became members of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. Many of the songs on their albums are credited to "Certain and Stacey". These songs were in fact written by Flatt, Scruggs, and various other members of the Foggy Mountain Boys. Certain and Stacey are the maiden names of the wives of Flatt and Scruggs (Louise Certain, wife of Earl Scruggs, and Gladys Stacey, wife of Lester Flatt).
Scruggs, who had always shown progressive
Progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...
tendencies, experimented on duets with saxophonist King Curtis
King Curtis
Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
and added songs by the likes of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
to the group's repertoire. Flatt, a traditionalist
Traditional bluegrass
Traditional bluegrass, as the name implies, emphasizes the traditional elements of bluegrass music, and stands in opposition to progressive bluegrass. Traditional bluegrass musicians play folk songs, tunes with simple traditional chord progressions, and on acoustic instruments of a type that were...
, did not like these changes, and the group broke up in 1969. Following the breakup, Lester Flatt founded the Nashville Grass
Nashville Grass
The Nashville Grass was a bluegrass band founded by Lester Flatt in 1969, after the end of his partnership with Earl Scruggs. Flatt hired most of the Foggy Mountain Boys for his new band. Over the years, as with most bluegrass bands, there were numerous changes in personnel, including the addition...
and Scruggs lead the Earl Scruggs Revue. Flatt died in 1979 at the age of 64. Scruggs still performs occasionally, as his health permits. Flatt and Scruggs were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
In 2003, they ranked #24 on CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, one of only four non-solo artists to make the list (Eagles, Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
, and Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...
are the others).
In the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...
, the band formed by the heroes is called the "Soggy Bottom Boys" as a tribute to the band.
Members
- Lester FlattLester FlattLester Raymond Flatt was a bluegrass musician and guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as "Flatt and Scruggs," with banjo picker Earl Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he...
(lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
) - Earl ScruggsEarl ScruggsEarl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
(banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
) - Paul Warren (fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - John Ray "Curly" Seckler (mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
) - Burkett "Uncle Josh" GravesJosh GravesJosh Graves , born Burkett Howard Graves, was an American bluegrass musician. Also known by the nicknames "Buck," and "Uncle Josh," he is credited with introducing the dobro into bluegrass music shortly after joining Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1955...
(DobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, bass) - English P. “Cousin Jake” Tullock (bass)
- Chubby WiseChubby WiseRobert Russell "Chubby" Wise was an American bluegrass fiddler.Wise began playing fiddle at age 15, working locally in the Jacksonville area. He joined the Jubilee Hillbillies in 1938, then began playing with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1942, including dates at the Grand Ole Opry...
(fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - Jim Shumate (fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - Benny MartinBenny MartinBenny Edward Martin , was an American bluegrass fiddler who invented the 8-string fiddle.-Biography:Born in Sparta, Tennessee, his father and two of his sisters played music professionally...
(fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - Benny Sims (fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - Nate "Diggs" Jones (Scatman)
- Howdy ForresterHowdy ForresterHowdy Forrester , born Howard Wilson Forrester, was an American bluegrass fiddler and a popularizer and practiser of the "Texas" or "show fiddle" style...
(fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - Art Wooten (fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) - Howard Watts aka "Cedric Rainwater" (bass)
- Charles Johnson aka "Little Jody Rainwater"Little Jody RainwaterLittle Jody Rainwater was born Charles E. Johnson in Surry Co. North Carolina in 1920. He is one of thirteen children of M. Wilson and Emma Johnson. He is most noted for playing bass with the bluegrass band The Foggy Mountain Boys. Jody's father played fiddle and Jody recalls being interested in...
(bass) - Frank "Hylo" BrownHylo BrownHylo Brown was a bluegrass and country music singer, guitarist and bass player.-Biography:Frank "Hylo" Brown was born in River, Kentucky and began his career as a performer on radio station WCMI in Ashland, Kentucky in 1939. Soon, he moved to WLOG in Logan, West Virginia and their "Saturday...
(bass, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Charles “Little Darlin’” Elza (bass)
- Joe Stuart (bass)
- Ernie Newton (bass)
- Bob MooreBob MooreBob Loyce Moore is an American session musician, orchestra leader, and bassist who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...
(bass) - Everette Lilly (mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
) - Jim EanesJim EanesJim Eanes was an American bluegrass and country music singer and guitarist.-Biography:Homer Robert Eanes Jr. was born in Mountain Valley, Virginia and grew up in Martinsville. He learned to play the guitar at an early age despite an injury to his left hand. He had his first musical training as a...
(guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Mac WisemanMac WisemanMalcolm B. Wiseman , better known as Mac Wiseman, is an American bluegrass singer, nicknamed The Voice with a Heart. The bearded singer is one of the cult figures of bluegrass....
(guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Billy E. Powers (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Johnny Johnson (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Earl Taylor (mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
)
Notable songs
- "Foggy Mountain BreakdownFoggy Mountain Breakdown"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is a bluegrass music instrumental by the bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. It is a standard in the bluegrass repertoire. Banjo players consider the ability to deliver a convincing rendition of this piece the mark of an intermediate-level banjo player...
" - an instrumental originally released in 1949 and used in many ruralRuralRural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
car chase movieFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
sequences, notably in Bonnie and ClydeBonnie and Clyde (film)The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
. It has won two Grammy awards. Parts of the song can be heard in the Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
"Killer Sheep" sketch in the episode entitled "The Attila The Hun Show." - "The Ballad of Jed ClampettThe Ballad of Jed Clampett"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show and movie, providing the back story for the series. The song was written and composed by Paul Henning, and sung by Jerry Scoggins, who was accompanied by bluegrass musicians Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs...
" (listen) - used as the theme for the Beverly Hillbillies television series. The song reached #42 on the record charts during the series' debut season of 1962. It was #1 on the country charts in January 1963, their only one of their career, and one of only two TV theme songs to ever do that on the country charts (Waylon JenningsWaylon JenningsWaylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
' "The Good Ol' Boys" theme from The Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
in the late 1970s was the other.). - Martha WhiteMartha WhiteMartha White is a U.S. brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes and similar products.The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899...
jingle (still used in advertising today).
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| 1957 | Foggy Mountain Jamboree | Columbia | ||
| 1958 | Country Music | Mercury | ||
| 1959 | Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs | |||
| 1960 | Songs of Glory | Columbia | ||
| 1961 | Foggy Mountain Banjo | |||
| Songs of the Famous Carter Family | ||||
| 1962 | Folk Songs of Our Land | |||
| 1963 | Hard Travelin' (The Ballad of Jed Clampett) | 115 | ||
| The Original Sound | Mercury | |||
| Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall | 7 | 134 | Columbia | |
| 1964 | Recorded Live at Vanderbilt University | 10 | ||
| The Fabulous Sound of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs | 2 | |||
| 1965 | The Versatile Flatt & Scruggs | |||
| Great Original Recordings | ||||
| 1966 | Town and Country | 15 | ||
| When the Saints Go Marching In | ||||
| Flatt & Scruggs' Greatest Hits | 34 | |||
| Sacred Songs | ||||
| 1967 | Strictly Instrumental Strictly Instrumental Strictly Instrumental is the title of a recording by American folk music artists Doc Watson, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, released in 1967.-Reception:... (w/ Doc Watson Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded... ) |
|||
| Hear the Whistles Blow | 37 | |||
| 1968 | Changin' Times featuring Foggy Mountain Breakdown | 7 | ||
| Songs of Cherish | ||||
| Original Theme From Bonnie & Clyde | 26 | |||
| The Story of Bonnie & Clyde | 23 | 187 | ||
| Nashville Airplane | 35 | |||
| 1970 | Final Fling | 45 | ||
| Breaking Out | 35 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||
| 1952 | "'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered" | 9 | singles only | |
| 1959 | "Cabin in the Hills" | 9 | ||
| 1960 | "Crying My Heart Out Over You" | 21 | ||
| 1961 | "Polka on a Banjo" | 12 | ||
| "Go Home" | 10 | |||
| 1962 | "Just Ain't" | 16 | ||
| "The Legend of the Johnson Boys" | 27 | Folk Songs of Our Land | ||
| "The Ballad of Jed Clampett The Ballad of Jed Clampett "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show and movie, providing the back story for the series. The song was written and composed by Paul Henning, and sung by Jerry Scoggins, who was accompanied by bluegrass musicians Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs... " |
1 | 44 | Hard Travelin' (The Ballad of Jed Clampett) | |
| 1963 | "Pearl Pearl Pearl" | 8 | 113 | singles only |
| "New York Town" | 26 | |||
| 1964 | "You Are My Flower" | 12 | Recorded Live at Vanderbilt University | |
| "My Sara Jane" | 40 | singles only | ||
| "Petticoat Junction" | 14 | |||
| "Workin' It Out" | 21 | |||
| 1965 | "I Still Miss Someone I Still Miss Someone "I Still Miss Someone" is the title of a song written and originally recorded by American country music singer Johnny Cash. He first recorded it in 1958 as the b-side to "Don't Take Your Guns to Town".-History:... " |
43 | The Versatile Flatt & Scruggs | |
| 1967 | "Nashville Cats" | 54 | singles only | |
| "California Up Tight Band" | 20 | |||
| 1968 | "Down in the Flood" | 45 | Changing Times featuring Foggy Mountain Breakdown |
|
| "Foggy Mountain Breakdown Foggy Mountain Breakdown "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is a bluegrass music instrumental by the bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. It is a standard in the bluegrass repertoire. Banjo players consider the ability to deliver a convincing rendition of this piece the mark of an intermediate-level banjo player... "A |
58 | 55 | ||
| "Like a Rolling Stone" | 58 | 125 | Nashville Airplane |
- A"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" also peaked at #90 on the RPMRPM (magazine)RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Top Singles chart in Canada.