William Smith Monroe was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, and created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass".
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it largely developed out of old-time string music, though in contrast, it is traditionally played exclusively on acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish and Irish ballads and dance tunes, as well as in blues and jazz. It was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
Earl Eugene Scruggs was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finger style of playing was radically different from the traditional way the five-string banjo had previously been played. This new style of playing became popular and elevated the banjo from its previous role as a background rhythm instrument to featured solo status. He popularized the instrument across several genres of music.
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is a bluegrass instrumental, in the common "breakdown" format, written by Earl Scruggs and first recorded on December 11, 1949, by the bluegrass artists Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. It is a standard in the bluegrass repertoire. The 1949 recording features Scruggs playing a five-string banjo.
Benny Edward Martin, was an American bluegrass fiddler who invented the eight-string fiddle. Throughout his musical career he performed with artists such as the Bluegrass Boys, Don Reno, the Smoky Mountain Boys and Flatt and Scruggs, and later performed and recorded with the Stanley Brothers, Hylo Brown, Jimmy Martin, Johnnie and Jack, and the Stonemans, among others. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scruggs are viewed by music historians as one of the premier bluegrass groups in the history of the genre.
Will the Circle be Unbroken is the seventh studio album by American country music group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with collaboration from many famous bluegrass and country-and-western players, including Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience. The album was released in November 1972, through United Artists Records.
The Nashville Grass was a bluegrass band founded by Lester Flatt in 1969, after the end of his partnership with Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Flatt hired most of the Foggy Mountain Boys for his new band.
Strictly Instrumental is the title of a recording by American folk music artists Doc Watson, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, released in 1967.
Here Today is a bluegrass album by five American musicians David Grisman, Emory Gordy Jr., Herb Pedersen, Jim Buchanan and Vince Gill, released in 1983 on Rounder Records. This was the only album this group recorded and each continued separate careers in bluegrass, newgrass, and country music.
The Bluegrass Album is the debut album by bluegrass supergroup, Bluegrass Album Band, released in 1981. It's a collection of bluegrass standards by Lester Flatt, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley and others. Ultimately, four volumes were released, recorded between 1980 and 1985.
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 2 is a follow-up album by bluegrass supergroup, Bluegrass Album Band, released in 1982. As all the members already had their own duties in their groups, they originally intended to release only one album and disband. However, they continued with this volume plus four more and set the standards of the bluegrass music on a very high level.
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 5 - —Sweet Sunny South is a fifth album by bluegrass supergroup, Bluegrass Album Band, released in 1989. Violinist Vassar Clements is on this album replacing Bobby Hicks, and bass duties are taken over by Mark Schatz (instead of Todd Philips, who otherwise plays on all Bluegrass Album Band albums.
Foggy Mountain Jamboree is an album by Flatt & Scruggs, released by Columbia Records in 1957.
The Earls of Leicester is an American bluegrass group, assembled by Jerry Douglas in 2013 to present the music of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and their band the Foggy Mountain Boys to a contemporary audience. Their eponymous debut album earned a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2015.
Ron Stewart is an American multi-instrumentalist in the bluegrass tradition. He plays fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and has won the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000 and Banjo Player of the Year in 2011.
The Fabulous Sound of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs is a studio album by bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. It was released in 1964 by Columbia Records.
Recorded Live at Vanderbilt University is a live album by bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. It was released in 1964 by Columbia Records.
Songs of the Famous Carter Family is a studio album by bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs featuring Mother Maybelle Carter and the Foggy Mountain Boys. It was released in 1961 by Columbia Records, catalog numbers CL 1664 (mono) and CS 8464 (stereo).
Paul Warren was an American fiddle player best known for his work on a number of Kitty Wells singles, and his long tenure with Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.
