Earl Scruggs, Three-Finger Picking Genius of Foggy Mountain
Earl Scruggs 2005 Photo: Rivers Langley via Wikipedia
Saw this man play till his fingers bleed five times over the past 40 years, I like
Rock n Roll but when a talent like Earl came to the area I never missed a chance
to see one of the best, no the best......
Threat those Pearly Gates to what
you do best, the will like it over those Harps.................... GOD
SPEED..
.Read the article CNN/Bluegrass great Earl Scruggs dead at 88
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Rest in peace, great man. I chose your 3-finger style when I played the banjo,
and just loved it. I wish I had met you, even more so after having just read
the Wikipedia article on you. You and my Mom were both born in Shelby, NC,
three years apart; and lived in adjacent counties. Not that you two would have
ever crossed paths, but I would have loved to have talked to you about what life
was like in that area when you were growing up. I would not have been surprised
if you knew of the small community that she grew up in. That was quite a time
to grow up and having to deal with the Great Depression. I am sure you have a
biography out there somewhere. I have have to look it up. Thanks for the
sounds.
Read the article CNN/Bluegrass great Earl Scruggs dead at 88
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Back in 1969 when I started playing banjo, there weren't any good instruction manuals on the subject, you had to learn from another accomplished player. Then the book 'Earl Scruggs and the Five String Banjo' appeared. I dedicated myself to mastering his technique and repertoire, and now so many years later, am still playing these tunes. What an amazing sound the banjo projects when played this style! We all owe so much to Earl Scruggs and his innovative banjo playing. If you're a banjo player, you revere this man. He really ripped the strings off the instrument, and got everyone to their feet.
Read the article CHIRISTAIN SCIENCE MONITOR/Legendary musician Earl Scruggs remembered for revolutionary banjo playing style
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This is sad news and he will be mourned by everyone who values great musicianship. He was a true pioneer and although many people will not recognise the name, most people will know his music.
His playing style influenced generations of banjo players and was so distinctive that it created a new category of country music. It is no exaggeration to say that he was the Jimmy Hendrix of country music (or perhaps that Jimmy Hendrix was the Earl Scruggs of rock music).
Read the article GUARDIAN/Earl Scruggs, bluegrass banjo legend, dies aged 88
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As a 6 year-old in the late 60s, I remember listening to the family's very slim record collection on my dad's newly acquired "gramaphone", including the Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys LP (which I suspect he got very cheap rather than paying full price).
Many years later, I rediscovered their music via the internet, learning that the 1967 Bonnie & Clyde film had used Flatt and Scruggs "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" as part of the soundtrack. It's a crackingly good tune even now, and must have been a revelation when released in 1949.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Earl Scruggs, bluegrass banjo legend, dies aged 88
Davy Jones, Daydream Believer
Davy Jones Photo: Karla Kaulfuss/Wikipedia
In the mid '60s the girl in the flat above me knew him and so he came to one of
her parties when he was in the UK. Nice guy, carried his fame lightly. He was 6
months younger than me which is a sobering thought. I still think Daydream
Believer was one of the most memorable songs of that era - and when you think of
the '60s songbook that is saying something.
Read the article BBC/Davy Jones of The Monkees dies aged 66
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Davy and The Monkees were for me the best part of growing-up. It was the
positive, up tempo fun music that lifted the spirit and brought a smile rather
than the suicide music we are fed today. Davy was forever young in our hearts,
an inspiration and even the music stands the test of time. Goodbye Davy and
thank you for everything.
Read the article BBC/Davy Jones of The Monkees dies aged 66
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Really nice guy. I met him once when filling up at a petrol station in Leicester
20 years ago, a few hours before he was due to play at De Montfort Hall on the
first Monkees reunion tour. I told him he was my girlfriend's hero when she was
little and that we were going to watch them play later.. He filled his car up
up, then came over to our car and handed my girlfriend a red rose. What a star.
Read the article BBC/Davy Jones of The Monkees dies aged 66
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Difference between The Monkees and later manufactured bands - they could all play and sing. They'd busted their chops in various other bands (or, in Jones' case, in musicals). And some of their own written and performed stuff was much better than the stuff written for them - Randy Scouse Git (which has Jones on drums, as originally intended) for example. Imagine Take That coming up with anything so interesting. Let alone Bozone.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Davy Jones of the Monkees dies, aged 66
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As others have commented, the deaths of those we grew up watching on TV in our childhood is a sobering reminder of the passing of the years and our own aging. Where the hell does time go? It is whizzing past at a scary speed.
The Monkees were one of the best things on a Saturday morning when I was a kid. That and the Banana Splits. Reading of the deaths of any of them (Fleegle, Bingo. Drooper or Snork) would put a damper on any day.
RIP, Davy. You were loved by a whole generation.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Davy Jones of the Monkees dies, aged 66
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Sad.
Well, I really enjoyed the TV show when I was younger. Didn't care that they were a "synthetic" Beatles group. Didn't know. Didn't care. They were fun.
Some songs are so classic and haunting. The Monkees' theme, Daydream believer, and Last train to Clarkesville. Davy Jones was always the likeable chirpy one.
Looking back, they were pretty nice role models for a young kid.
All I can think about now is about 20 years ago, there was a local radio quiz at a school I taught in. The contestants were teenagers, and one round was animals in music. A very sweet student, who clearly didn't know the Monkees' music listened to the start of the Monkees' Theme, "Here they come ... walking down the street ... they pull the funniest faces ... at everyone they meet ... hey, hey we're the ..."
What animal is in the song?
Without a clue, the student took the cue from "hey, hey ..." and answered "the horses". Priceless!
Read the article GUARDIAN/Davy Jones of the Monkees dies, aged 66
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Although this is very sad news, it's very refreshing to see so many posts saying such nice things about Davy & the band. Like most other posters above, I too grew up with The Monkees as part of my childhood: watching them in the 60s & listening to the songs on the radio; re-watching them in the 70s and appreciating the zanyness; discovering Head in the 90s, watching them in the noughties on DVD, etc.
Their singles have stood the test of time well (but so have so many from the 60s) and, OK, they were written by some great people (except Randy Scouse Git which is really out there) but it was the whole package that made it: the boys and their image were just as important.
As well as the music, I think it is hard to appreciate just how much of a breath of fresh air their TV programmes were in 1967. Sure, they were partly based upon A Hard Day's Night, but they were so different at the time and aimed at 'the young generation' which very little else was. A few of the shows were incredibly wierd and stand up well today.
Oh well, time to listen to The Porpoise Song again.......
Read the article GUARDIAN/Davy Jones of the Monkees dies, aged 66
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Oh dear - another figure from my youth has gone.
Good to see that the trolls haven't invaded this site so far. The Monkees produced a brand of music that, today, is frowned upon and is treated in a "snob" way by so many journalists and modern day artists; it was called pop and like all genres of music, it had it's good sides and bad.
The Monkees were up there with the best when it came to making pop music; nobody here yet has mentioned "Last Train to Clarkesville" - a really sad song about a man just leaving for the Vietnam war desperate to meet his lover one more time before he leaves, as he fears he won't return.
With people like Neil Diamond as writers and Glen Campbell as backing musicians, they became more than just a manufactured group. Indeed, their record company's reluctance to let them do their own material frustrated them in later years, especially Peter Tork & Mike Nesmith, who were musicians pre-Monkees, as opposed to Davy Jones & Mickey Dolenz, who were actors.
RIP Davy - you gave so many people so much pleasure with your music, and there ain't nothing wrong with that!
Read the article THE TELEGRAPH/Davy Jones of The Monkees dead at 66
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