Earl Scruggs – Live At The Ryman
Rounder has shipped the CD version of Earl Scruggs with Family & Friends, The Ultimate Collection – Live at the Ryman, first released digitally on September 30 of this year.
It features Scruggs with his sons Gary on bass/vocals and Randy on guitar, along with Rob Ickes on resonator guitar, Hoot Hester on fiddle, John Jorgenson on mandolin, Jon Randall on guitar and vocals, and John Gardner on percussion.
The material and presentation rely more on the sound of the Earl Scruggs Revue, the folk-rock group featuring Earl, Gary and Randy that performed and recorded in the 1970s, than it does the classic Flatt & Scruggs repertoire. Even Scruggs banjo gems like Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Earl’s Breakdown, Sally Gooding and Soldier’s Joy get a more modern treatment than Lester & Earl ever gave them.
But, as Earl himself might remark, Flatt & Scruggs are past and gone, and what we get here is a current look at one of the few musicians who can lay claim to having truly revolutionized the way an instrument is perceived by both the general public and fellow musicains alike.
Let’s get the first, and most obvious qualification out of the way.
No… Earl doesn’t sound just like he did in the 1950s. He was 83 years old when this recording was made in the summer of 2007, and it doesn’t take a physician to describe the loss of dexterity endemic to such an advanced age. It’s still a joy to hear him play, however, and the live audience at The Ryman in Nashville certainly ate it up.
The show has a jam-like vibe and the performers are obviously enjoying their moment on stage with a legend. Jon Randall stands out singing In The Pines and Sitting On Top Of The World, reminding us of what a shame it is that he has never found wider success in country or acoustic music. Rob Ickes shines throughout – as he always does – and it’s a real treat to catch him throwing down some Josh Graves licks on Foggy Mountain Rock. Hoot Hester tears up Sally Gooding, starting off as a banjo/fiddle duet just like Earl did it in the old days.
The CD booklet features a number of photos from the concert and extensive biographical notes from Jay Orr of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and Eddie Strubbs of WSM and The Grand Ole Opry.
There are no audio samples on the Rounder site, but you can hear clips from all 18 tracks in iTunes.


There are six short videos up on Gibson's web site that feature banjo legend Earl Scruggs discussing his life and career in bluegrass and acoustic music. It seems that they were all recorded earlier this year.
Each of the links below go to one of the individual video clips, each focusing on a specific...
Tom Thomas, the President of the Flatt and Scruggs Preservation Society, has announced the creation of a blog that will naturally focus on matters relating to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.
Thomas said of his blog...
"(It) will display any new information concerning upcoming appearances of Earl...
This post is a contribution from Brad Davis. Brad is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and recording engineer who has worked with a literal who's-who of bluegrass music. Visit Brad online at braddavismusic.com.
Several weekends ago, I was called to perform with the legendary Earl Scruggs in San Francisco...
This post is a contribution from Rob Ickes, the celebrated dobroist with Blue Highway. Rob was a semi-regular member of the Earl Scruggs stage band when Earl would make one of his rare public performances this past few years.
Louise will be missed by many people in Bluegrass and Country Music. I...
Yesterday (4/26), Earl Scruggs was a guest on NPR's All Things Considered, where he discussed the recently released set of DVDs from the Flatt & Scruggs television shows in the the late 1950s and early '60s.
He talks with Melissa Block about the old days, and shared a few stories about doing TV...
Earl Scruggs is on the cover of the September/October issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles, now on its way to subscribers. The magazine features a lengthy, personal interview with the legendary father of bluegrass banjo, where he talks about a great many things of interest to banjo pickers and bluegrass...
We found a link on Pete Wernick's web site that points to the audio from a recent edition of Etown, the weekly radio show hosted by former Hot Rize bass man Nick Forster. The show included one of the occasional reunion performances by Hot Rize, plus an appearance by Earl Scruggs.
Scruggs' segment...




Leave a comment
Comments are open and unmoderated for our registered users, only your first comment will require approval before publication. Comments do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bluegrass Blog. Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their content by The Bluegrass Blog.
You must