Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown

The Making of an American Classic

by Thomas Goldsmith

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Pub Date Sep 13 2019 | Archive Date Oct 15 2019

University of Illinois Press

Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)

Talking about this book? Use #EarlScruggsAndFoggyMountainBreakdown #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!

Description

Recorded in 1949, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" changed the face of American music. Earl Scruggs's instrumental essentially transformed the folk culture that came before it while helping to energize bluegrass's entry into the mainstream in the 1960s. The song has become a gateway to bluegrass for musicians and fans alike as well as a happily inescapable track in film and television. Thomas Goldsmith explores the origins and influence of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" against the backdrop of Scruggs's legendary career. Interviews with Scruggs, his wife Louise, disciple Bela Fleck, and sidemen like Curly Seckler, Mac Wiseman, and Jerry Douglas shed light on topics like Scruggs's musical evolution and his working relationship with Bill Monroe. As Goldsmith shows, the captivating sound of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" helped bring back the banjo from obscurity and distinguished the low-key Scruggs as a principal figure in American acoustic music.Passionate and long overdue, Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown takes readers on an ear-opening journey into two minutes and forty-three seconds of heaven.

Recorded in 1949, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" changed the face of American music. Earl Scruggs's instrumental essentially transformed the folk culture that came before it while helping to energize...

Advance Praise

"Thoroughly researched, elegantly written, this is a superb study of a tune, a man, and the creation of a highly distinctive American musical style. Loaded with information and interpretation, its warm personable style makes for a compelling and insightful read."--Douglas B. (Ranger Doug) Green

"An enormous contribution to the history of bluegrass and a fascinating read, well organized and well told. Goldsmith's lengthy interview with Earl is a treasure trove of information not only about 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' but about the early days of bluegrass and specifically Earl's working relationship with Bill Monroe, which has long been clouded in mystery."--Murphy Hicks Henry, author of Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass

"A fascinating read! Goldsmith tells how Earl Scruggs used his unique artistic vision to invent a musical language understood and embraced by performers and audiences alike, reviving the five-string banjo to leave an enduring mark on American popular music."--Neil V. Rosenberg, author of Bluegrass Generation: A Memoir

"Thoroughly researched, elegantly written, this is a superb study of a tune, a man, and the creation of a highly distinctive American musical style. Loaded with information and interpretation, its...