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Author Goldsmith, Thomas, 1952- author.

Title Earl Scruggs and Foggy mountain breakdown : the making of an American classic / Thomas Goldsmith
Published Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2019]

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Description 1 online resource (x, 177 pages)
Series Music in American life
Music in American life.
Contents Out to Follow Scruggs's Path -- "I grew up around a banjo" -- The Piedmont's Rich Musical Soil -- Early Professional Days -- Joining Bill Monroe -- Working as a Blue Grass Boy -- Flatt and Scruggs Build a Career -- Recording "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" -- "Like a Jackhammer" -- How the Tune Works -- The Number-One Banjo Player -- The Beverly Hillbillies Welcomes the Banjo -- Riding with Bonnie and Clyde -- Scruggs Without Flatt : A Period of Transition -- Scruggs's Banjo Gains a Cult Following -- Reaping the Harvest
Summary "Less than three minutes long and involving no lyrics, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is a banjo-led song that changed the face of American music. Composed and recorded by Earl Scruggs in 1949, the song went on to transform and modernize folk culture of the early 20th century, its effects extending far beyond bluegrass. The captivating sound of the piece helped rejuvenate the banjo, an instrument that had been vanishing from the mainstream of American music; its unforgettable twang and cadence ushered the banjo and backwoods into American popular culture by providing the soundtrack for "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Bonnie and Clyde"; its close relationship to "Blue Grass Breakdown," a song composed by Scruggs' one-time bandleader Bill Monroe, illustrates the fungible nature of intellectual property in the early days of country music; and the song's advanced compositional techniques and technical difficulty helped distinguish Scruggs as one of a small handful of principals of acoustic music. Relying on primary sources, including interviews with Scruggs and his wife and manager, Louise, as well as with Curly Seckler, the only surviving musician from the 1949 recording, this project examines the story surrounding "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." Along the way, Goldsmith reveals much about Scruggs's career and the evolution of his influential style. No such examination about Scruggs or his famous song exists, so this project is positioned to make a strong contribution to the history of bluegrass"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on October 04, 2019)
Subject Scruggs, Earl.
Scruggs, Earl. Foggy mountain breakdown.
SUBJECT Scruggs, Earl fast
Subject Banjoists -- United States -- Biography
Bluegrass musicians -- United States -- Biography
MUSIC -- General.
Banjoists
Bluegrass musicians
United States
Genre/Form Electronic books
Biographies
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2019025461
ISBN 9780252051821
0252051823