He’s been called the Babe Ruth of bluegrass, the Thomas Edison, the man who not only brought about a distinctive new way of picking the banjo but made it known worldwide through his own talent.

Earl Scruggs, a legend in bluegrass, died of natural causes at the age of 88 on Wednesday in Nashville.

Scruggs’ name comes up in nearly all of the interviews I do with bluegrass musicians and bands before the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival – in talking with banjo players, it’s practically a guarantee. They talk about the music he made, first with Bill Monroe, then in a duo with Lester Flatts.

The North Carolina native was an influence and an inspiration to bluegrass and country musicians, with his three-finger style of playing and the way those fingers could fly over the banjo without missing a note.

“Some nights he had the stars of North Carolina shooting from his fingertips,” banjo-player and comedian Steve Martin wrote in an excellent New Yorker column on Scruggs. “Before him, no one had ever played the banjo like he did. After him, everyone played the banjo like he did, or at least tried.”

I like the story of how Scruggs started playing a three-finger picking style.
It starts with Scruggs getting into an argument with his brother, as the biography on his website explains:

Earl went into his room and closed the door. He was playing a tune on the banjo titled “Ruben.” He was subconsciously picking when he suddenly realized he was using three fingers rather than the usual two– the thumb, index and middle finger. He had been trying to play with three fingers and had not been able to do so. His brother said Earl came running out of the room yelling, ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got it! I can play with three fingers!” He became so engrossed in playing the tune that he did not try playing anything else for a week.

It’s a sweet story, a nice beginning for a man who friends say remained sweet and humble for all of his days.