Pickin' through the times with 'Banjo Man'

Earl Scruggs changed the course of bluegrass, country and popular music in general through his revolutionary playing technique and his willingness to embrace and experiment with other styles. The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum pays tribute to his remarkable accomplishments this week when their new exhibit Banjo Man: The Musical Journey of Earl Scruggs opens Friday.

The exhibit combines artifacts, instruments, costumes, original art, rare video and photographs, posters and music highlighting Scruggs' life and times from his youth in North Carolina and early days with Bill Monroe through the groundbreaking Flatt & Scruggs years and his exploits with the folk-rock Earl Scruggs Revue.

But the exhibit is equally important for its focus on his wife Louise Certain Scruggs. Her pioneering role as a manager/booker is highlighted, and her contributions to broadening Scruggs' appeal and influence also is documented.

Louise Scruggs was the first woman in country music history who also handled management and booking. She started those duties in 1955 with the Flatt & Scruggs show and was wise enough to see the possibilities of marketing the Scruggs sound to folk audiences in the '60s and '70s.
Getting there

What: Banjo Man: The Musical Journey of Earl Scruggs

When: Friday through June 16, 2006; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

Where: The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, 222 Fifth Ave. S.

Cost: $15.95 adults, $7.95 children

Info: 416-2001

Her efforts later helped get the Earl Scruggs Revue dates at places like Carnegie Hall and the Fillmore, as well as on national and international music and folk festivals alongside blues, rock, jazz and soul acts.

"Louise Scruggs was certainly the first woman to occupy such a key role in any musician's professional life," said Mick Buck, curator of collections at the museum. "From our research she was certainly the first woman manager in country music, and she may have been the first in any genre. She was the one with the foresight later to see that there was an audience among the college crowd who enjoyed folk music, and she made the bookings that helped break the new Earl Scruggs Revue to audiences in the Northeast and on the festival circuit."

Earl Scruggs' numerous honors include winning multiple Grammys, being a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and International Bluegrass Music Association, receiving the National Medal of the Arts, and being a Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree.

Some of the items in the exhibit include the first banjo ever played by Scruggs, a vintage typewriter used by Louise Scruggs, a concert poster from groundbreaking concerts pairing Scruggs' band alongside the blues duo of Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry, and early photos showing the new Earl Scruggs Revue that emerged following the breakup of Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.

"One thing that Earl regretted during the early years was the amount of time he spent on the road that kept him away from his family," Buck added. "When he formed the new group after the breakup of Flatt & Scruggs he was really viewing it as a way of not just expanding his music but also of working with his sons and strengthening his ties with them."

In addition, the exhibit is being accompanied by a DVD release of vintage Martha White-sponsored Flatt & Scruggs TV shows from the museum's collection. While it had been long thought there wasn't any surviving footage from that classic program, the museum has obtained enough footage for a DVD compilation of performances from various shows.

A trio of programs on Saturday commemorates the opening of the exhibit. These include a "Banjo For Kids" demonstration with Pam Gadd at 1 p.m. and an interview session and Q&A at 2 p.m. featuring Earl Scruggs, his wife Louise, and his sons Gary and Randy with Eddie Stubbs from WSM-AM 650 serving as moderator. The country/bluegrass band the Grascals will celebrate the Scruggs musical legacy with a performance at 4 p.m.

A 1962 episode of Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole Opry with special guest Hylo Brown will be shown at 2 p.m. March 27 at the museum.