Talk:Earl Scruggs

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DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins does seem to have been sidelined in banjo, bluegrass, Scruggs style and in this article. He was not even listed in banjo players. I believe Earl did acknowledge that he was influenced by Snuffy's three-finger style and I propose it might be more accurate to say that Earl 'developed' and popularised the style rather than creating it all on his own. I believe that Don Reno is reported to have said that Snuffy and the young Earl played in the same three-finger style, although this may have been a simpler forerunner of Earl's later developments. This opens up the question of what exactly Cumberland Gap and Sally Goodin sounded like when Earl and Snuffy played the tunes around 1934 (Earl being around ten years old).

It is also reported that Don Reno was playing in his own unique style before he even heard Earl Scruggs playing "bluegrass" and that he couldn't accept Bill Monroe's offer to join his band because of impending military service.

To be fair to Snuffy, I therefore propose something along the lines of "Influenced by early pioneers of the three-finger style, notably DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins, Earl Scruggs developed and refined his own style of banjo playing. The rapid-fire syncopated "Scruggs" style became one of the defining elements of bluegrass, as made popular by Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys." Comments appreciated. Ophir 02:37, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

Good points all. I have also heard that Scruggs did not invent the three-finger roll but rather refined and popularised it, and that Don Reno had already developed his three-finger style before he heard Scruggs. I have heard that this was a common style of banjo playing in the area of North Carolina in which Scruggs grew up (I cannot remember for sure but I believe Reno was from the same general area, which would lend credence to this argument). Before specifically mentioning DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins, I think we should seek a source for the claim, but it is certainly reasonable to immediately change the article to say that Scruggs "refined and popularized" the three-finger roll, now known as Scruggs-style banjo playing. Cmadler 13:33, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anti-War

Perhaps there could be some mention of his Anti-Vietnam stance? This was a pretty big deal back in the day, as all his country cohorts were pro war (See: dixie chicks 2003). Just food for thought. --Boss hogg01 17:01, 26 May 2007 (UTC)