Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Earl Scruggs at the Newport Jazz Festival July 30, 2011

Earl performed at the jazz festival Saturday. He also performed there 52 years ago! Way to go Earl!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Jim Shumate to be inducted into the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame!


There have been a lot great fiddle players over the years. Some of the ones I like most are Posey Rorer, Charley LaPrade, Paul Warren and J.E. Mainer. That’s a woefully incomplete list of fiddlers, and you’ve probably guessed that I’m partial to the old-time guys.




Well, there’s one fiddler who hasn’t had a lot of mainstream press, but is one of the most influential (and many say the best) of the bluegrass fiddle players who has roots in the old-timey styles.



He’s Jim Shumate of Hickory, and he’ll be inducted into the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame in Wilkes County.



Bluegrass isn’t that old. It came along in the mid-1930s, just in time for the fabled Robert Johnson to explore the infant musical style. Johnson, known for his blues (and being one of the most influential artists ever), dabbled in bluegrass before he died in 1938.



It was Bill Monroe who started the fire that today burns brighter than ever. Shumate was once the fiddler in Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, at the time when Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt were with the group



Now, ol’ Bill was a taskmaster. Everything had to be just right. He didn’t cotton to foolin’ around on stage. His way of thinking was that the audience spent good money to see a good show and that’s what the folks were going to get. Monroe figured out what music energized a crowd, what animated people and what gave ‘em the dreamy, I-remember look.

He knew bluegrass was just the ticket.



So how good was Shumate? Good enough that the first time he was at the Grand Ole Opry (1944), the Bluegrass Boys opened the show and the first licks were Shumate doing the Opry theme song. Monroe thought Shumate was good. Real good.

Shumate didn’t record a lot. “The process was so tedious,” he recalled in a interview several years ago. And he really didn’t like the grind of road trips. Six years after Monroe first heard him play on WHKY Radio in 1943, Shumate came home for good.

However, he has a plaque hanging in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Shumate’s time with Monroe was critical for bluegrass music, a reality not lost on the fiddle great. He once mused, “Once we (the Bluegrass Boys) got started, it (bluegrass) didn’t take long to get going after that. When we were at the Opry, everybody was trying to do it just like we did. I said, ‘I don’t know what it is, but we’re making some kind of history.’ We just sort of laughed it off. Bill Monroe was the backbone of it. I know that. He is one fine fella to work for.”



As long as you deliver, and nobody every accused Jim Shumate of not delivering his best. He’s still remembered and revered by veteran performers and devotees of bluegrass.



Listen and watch closely: That’s Shumate on Lester and Earl’s “The Mercury Sessions” and the dynamic duo’s TV variety show. He was featured in “High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music,” a film by Northside Films of Brooklyn



Ah, so you have heard of him! Don’t get the impression that I know him. I met him one time and then only because a coworker was doing a story. So I did some checking up on Shumate. By the time I was done, I knew he was the real deal



The miracle of modern technology made studio recording less tedious, and Shumate has cut a couple of albums. If you find “Buckle Up The Backstrap,” grab it. Same goes to “Up And At ‘Em.” And he performed at various venues and conducted fiddle workshops for years, as long as there wasn’t too much travel time involved.





Let’s see. He was 70 in 1993 when he recorded “Buckle Up.” Hmmm. It’s about time to honor him with induction at the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame on June 11. Shumate will be enshrined with Emmylou Harris, Jens Kruger, Jim Lauderdale and Willard Watson.



Shumate is scheduled to perform. If you go, hang on to your hat. He’s not going into the great hall because he’s ordinary. Hey, he’s got a plaque in Nashville. Bill Monroe turned him loose on his very first note at the Opry.



The Wilkes County boy who learned to play from his brother and his uncle and memorized every stop and note Arthur Smith and Sam Kirk McGee could do favored home over fame. But he isn’t forgotten. Besides, Shumate never looked at his ability as a way to get rich and grab glory.



“It’s a gift from God,” he once said. It’s a gift he’s shared for decades. It’s good knowledgeable people know he deserves recognition.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Photos of Earl Scruggs House!

Here are some photos of Earl's nice home near Nashville, TN.




Monday, February 21, 2011

Cousin Jake Bluegrass Festival March 12th

Gem Theater-Downtown Historic Etowah


This festival of bluegrass music, named in honor of Cousin Jake Tullock, is held every year in March and located at the Gem Theater. Jake grew up in Etowah, Tennessee where he learned to make music with his family. After leaving home to make a career as a musician he landed a job with Flatt and Scruggs, playing bass and telling jokes. He traveled with Flatt and Scruggs for 20 years. Jake retired from the music scene and moved back to Etowah, where he served as a police dispatcher until his death. Come hear the music that Jake loved played. The festival is held at the Historic Gem Theater in downtown Etowah. There will be lots of jamming going on across the street at the L&N Depot Museum, so bring your instrument along. Between sets, pick up bargains at the many antique shops and outlets located in the downtown.



This event begins at 12:00 p.m. and is $15 for an all day ticket which is available at the box office the day of the performance.



For more information, contact Etowah Area Chamber of Commerce 423-263-2228

Friday, February 11, 2011

Reminiscing on Sandy Ridge Shows

In 1948 Cleo Lemons heard on the radio that Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs had left Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys to form their own band. Upon hearing this news Cleo wrote a letter to Lester Flatt to see if they would agree to come to Sandy Ridge School and play a bluegrass show that would be sponsored by the American Legion. In a few days, Cleo received a response and the very first bluegrass show at Sandy Ridge School was scheduled.



That first evening Cleo met Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, Jim Shumate and Howard Watts in a 1937 Ford two-door with bass on top and instruments along with sound equipment in the back. This would mark the beginning of one of the longest running annual bluegrass shows in history.



Flatt and Scruggs continued to appear at Sandy Ridge School until their breakup in 1969. Flatt and Scruggs broke up the Saturday night before the Sandy Ridge Show would have been played on March 7th. The Osborne Brothers agreed to play the show in their place. After this, Lester Flatt continued to do the show for many years. The Osborne Brothers became annual performers at the show along with others including The Lewis Family, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, and more.



In the 60 plus years this concert has been held, there is just too much history that has taken place to be included in a few short paragraphs. One interesting fact relayed to Doug Hutchens by Earl Scruggs is that “Flatt and Scruggs played this show more times than any other one place except for the Grand Ole Opry.”

Friday, January 7, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Happy 87th Birthday Earl Scruggs! Jan 6, 1924


Happy Birthday Earl! Thanks for all the great music! It has brought joy to thousands of people through the years! Wishing you many more years of good health!