The Bluegrass Blog would like to wish a very happy 83rd birthday to George Shuffler. George was born April 11, 1925.

Shuffler is viewed by many as a pivotal figure in the development of bluegrass guitar styles. He spent 18 years with The Stanley Brothers, where he developed his trademark guitar style known today as crosspicking.

At 83 years young, George is still active in and around the music, influencing many young pickers still today with his impeccable timing and tasteful playing.

Happy birthday George!

We posted last month about pioneering bluegrass guitarist George Shuffler being recognized by the North Carolina Arts Council for his lifetime of contributing to the world of traditional and bluegrass music. George worked with The Stanley Brothers for many years, and his crosspicking style is imitated to this day by successive generations of bluegrass guitar pickers.

The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC has published a lengthy profile on Shuffler by staff writer David Menconi, which includes a memorable interview about how George got started on guitar.

It’s not too hard to persuade Shuffler to pull out his guitar and show off a little. Does he play much anymore?

“Oh, no more than I have to,” he deadpans, a twinkle in his eye.

But he still plays more than passably, in a homegrown rhythmic style somewhere between country blues and sea chanteys.

“When I was 12,” Shuffler says, pausing to expel some tobacco juice into a cup, “the old fellow across the creek, Jack Smith, showed me how to do three chords — G, C and D, that might have been all he knew. I took it from there.”

“I was barefoot, walking home with my dad afterward and playing my old guitar,” he continues. “I’d stop and play those three chords, G, C and D, because I was afraid I’d forget them. I’d do that, then run to catch up with my dad, stop and play some more. That evening, Mama was humming ‘Birmingham Jail’ and I seconded on guitar. She got so hoarse she couldn’t talk.”

Simply precious… Read the full article on the News & Observer web site.

George Shuffler, pioneering cross picking guitarist and one of the memorable personalities in bluegrass music, will be acknowledged by the North Carolina Arts Council with its annual Folk Heritage Award on October 25 in Raleigh, NC.

Shuffler will lunch with NC Governor Mike Easly on the 24th, and receive his award the following day.

Shuffler spent 18 years as a member of The Stanley Brothers in the 1950s and 1960s where his cross picking lead guitar technique was a distinctive aspect of the band’s sound. The technique involves using a flatpick jumping across three or more strings to mimic the rolling sound of the 5 string banjo. This cross picking style mixes a basic melody with “fill notes” for an eighth note flurry that has been replicated and honed to this day.

Here is a YouTube clip taken from his instructional DVD with James Allen Shelton, Clinch Mountain Guitar.

The latest issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine is now mailing to subscribers. This issue is Volume 11, Number 4 - May/June 2007. The cover story this time around is The Pioneers of Flatpicking. The pioneers of bluegrass guitar covered in this issue are (in no particular order):

• Edd Mayfield
• Maybelle Carter
• Riley Pucket
• George Shuffler
• Hank Snow
• Don Reno
• Delmore Brothers
• Jimmie Rodges
• Doc Addington

Yes, the folks at FGM are aware that not all these players used a flatpick.

Although not all of these early performers used a flatpick, they all certainly had a great influence on those of us who flatpick today.

The usual columnists are all on board providing lessons and tabs of tunes played by these pioneers. The entire issue is a great lesson in the history of bluegrass and flatpicking guitar.

Here’s a link to the subscription info.