Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs left Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in 1948 to form the third, and one of the most influential groups in bluegrass history. Before landing a steady early morning radio spot on Nashville’s WSM and a berth on the Grand Ole Opry, the band appeared on a number of southern radio stations and booked show dates primarily within their listening area. The band’s earliest recording sessions were held in Cincinnati at Herzog Studio during 1948 and 1949 for the Mercury label. All of the 16 numbers recorded in Cincinnati have become classics, but “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” was the biggest seller, primarily due to its use as the chase theme in the 1967 movie “Bonnie and Clyde.” The Flatt and Scruggs partnership ended in 1968, though both continued as leaders of their own groups. They were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985, the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.
Flatt and Scruggs