Banjo Picker Dies At 88

NASHVILLE – Earl Scruggs, whose banjo-picking technique changed the way people play the instrument, has died of natural causes aged 88.

He had his biggest successes in a duo with Lester Flatt, a fiddler and singer.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown, recorded with Flatt in 1949, was featured in the film Bonnie and Clyde two decades later.

Flatt and Scruggs also played on The Ballad of Jed Clampett, the theme of The Beverly Hillbillies television series.

Scruggs invented his style as a child in North Carolina, where many banjoists picked with three fingers instead of the usual two.

His variation on that method let him to play a song’s melody and rhythm simultaneously, making his sound unique.

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