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After his interview with Thomas Goldsmith, Bill turns to Earl’s banjo-and-fiddle duet accompaniment style, analyzing “Grey Eagle” from a 1950s radio broadcast with fiddler Benny Martin and “Fiddle and Banjo (Stoney Point)” with fiddler Paul Warren, from Flatt and Scruggs’s December 1962 Carnegie Hall concert. Bill also takes a look at “Across the Blue Ridge Mountains” (also known as “My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains”) from Flatt and Scruggs’s 1963 Vanderbilt University concert in Nashville, discussing Earl’s solo and analyzing the different backup approaches Earl uses throughout the song.
| SESSION 4: Earl’s Leads From the Mercury and Columbia Sessions |
| SESSION 4: Earl’s Leads from the Mercury and Columbia Records Sessions |
In this Session, Bill looks at Earl’s leads and back-up to “Doin’ My Time” from the Mercury Sessions, along with three great solos (“I’m Head Over Heels In Love,” “I’ll Stay Around,” and “The Old Home Town”) from Flatt and Scruggs’s November 21, 1950 Columbia Records session. These are all classic performances and they demonstrate Earl’s approach to creating solos to Lester’s vocal tunes.
These tunes cover the period discussed in Chapter 10 of Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown: The Making of an American Icon, by Thomas Goldsmith.
In Session 4, Bill discusses Flatt and Scruggs’ live and taped radio performances from 1953-54 with the fiddler Benny Martin. Many bluegrass music lovers consider this to be the band at its absolute most powerful. Give a listen to these two full radio performances.
Listening Assignment
“Doin’ My Time” (original Mercury recording taken from an LP – you can really hear Earl here!)
“I’m Head Over Heels In Love” (original Columbia recording)
“The Old Home Town” (original Columbia recording)
“I’ll Stay Around” (original Columbia recording)
And how folks listened to “I’ll Stay Around” in the 1950’s
| ”Doin' My Time” Tab (Available to subscribers) |
| “I’m Head Over Heels In Love” Tab (Available to subscribers) |
| “I’ll Stay Around” Tab (Available to subscribers) |
| “The Old Home Town” Tab (Available to subscribers) |
