The Earl Scruggs Revue - Family Portrait (1976)

Nicknamed the Paganini of the banjo, Earl Scruggs earned his reputation by imposing his three-finger picking style. Although he didn't invent the technique, Earl Scruggs popularized it with Bill Monroe from 1945, then with Lester Flatt from 1948 for Foggy Mountain Boys and Flatt & Scruggs. The albums Foggy Mountain Jamboree (1957), and Live at Kansas State (1972) are the best to appreciate his touch. Winner of two Grammy Awards, Earl Scruggs saw the cream of rock and country music flock to Earl Scruggs and Friends in 2001. This major figure of bluegrass died on March 28, 2012 in Nashville (Tennessee) at the age of eighty-eight.