Song:Go Home
Album:16 Biggest Hits
Flatt & Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys are likely the most recognizable bluegrass group in music history due to their involvement in TV and movies, especially The Beverly Hillbillies. But they were very popular in the country market throughout the 50s & 60s and both are legends of bluegrass. Lead guitarist Lester Flatt was born June 19, 1914 in Overton County, TN. Banjo player Earl Scruggs was born Jan. 6, 1924 in Shelby, NC. They met when they joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1945 and left to form The Foggy Mountain Boys in 1948 along with bassist Cedric Rainwater, fiddler Jim Shumate and guitarist Mac Wiseman. They signed with Mercury Records and recorded Foggy Mountain Breakdown in 1949. They moved to Columbia Records in 1951 and had were regulars on the country music charts through the 50s and into the 60s. Go Home reached #10 on the country charts in 1961. The song was written by singer songwriter Onie Wheeler who was also on Columbia. It was very typical of their music. Flatt & Scruggs became even more popular when they performed The Ballad Of Jed Clampett for the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962. Jerry Scoggins was the vocalist. Also, Foggy Mountain Breakdown was used in Arthur Penn's 1968 film Bonnie & Clyde. This comp is a perfect intro to their music. Flatt & Scruggs split up in 1969. Flatt formed a traditional bluegrass group called The Nashville Grass. Scruggs went in a more progressive direction with The Earl Scruggs Revue. They were planning a reunion when Lester Flatt died on May 11, 1979 at age 64. Earl Scruggs continues to perform today. Flatt & Scruggs were inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1985. Here's Flatt & Scruggs performing Go Home 1961.
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