Earl Scruggs meant a lot to me, not so much for his inimitable banjo style or signature tunes like "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." I loved him because he rose above the love-it-or-leave-it country music scene in the late 60s, and with his sons performed with the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Byrds, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He lent his prestige and musicianship to the genre-bending, niche-defying music of the late-60s and early 70s. And he put his reputation on the line by playing with the young folks at anti-war rallies.
Never actually saw him in person, but did have an unforgettable experience, enhanced by magic brownies, watching "Banjoman" in a Washington, DC, movie theater. (Not the only Scruggs documentary.) And I still have a couple tattered and scratched old Scruggs' LPs in the box of records I can't bear to discard.
I will remember him as a great musician and a gutsy, sharing, quiet, decent, humble man. He will be missed.
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