The Earl Scruggs Photographs
In 1972 or thereabouts, I cold-called Louise Scruggs and proposed that I write a biography of Earl. I was no one; she was Louise Scruggs. However, she was gracious but cautious. Upon my subsequent sending her an outline of my proposed book, she accepted my offer. This would be the first biography of Earl attempted, as she had turned down other proposals, stating that I was the first one she had some confidence in that might get the details of Earl’s life right, and she was understandably protective.
I was petrified, as anyone would be, facing the daunting task of portraying the life of a legend. And what an adventure it would be, as Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and countless other notables in Earl’s life were alive and subject to be interviewed. What followed was a couple days visiting with Earl and Louise in the living room of their Madison, TN, house which produced a few hours of recorded interviews (which I still have) and the photographs of Earl and banjo in his favorite chair as seen on this website.
The photographs in the Opry green room were taken on the evening of the first day of my visit, as Earl was on the WSM show that night. Afterwards, Earl asked me if I would take his banjo back to the car and put it in the trunk, as he wanted to meet with others backstage. So there I was, a 20-something fanboy nobody, who just spent the day at Earl Scruggs’ house, then backstage at the Grand Ole Opry as his guest and biographer, no less, and now I was walking across the parking lot at night by myself carrying the world’s most famous and precious banjo.
All of the photos of Earl and the Earl Scruggs Revue on this site were taken over the next few months after my initial visit to his house. One of the venues was the McCarter theater in Princeton, NJ. At another venue, lost to the mists of time, I was able to actually stand on stage to get more intimate photos.
Alas, the biography was never realized. From my interview tapes, I wrote two sample chapters, but in the end was unable to get a “yes” after courting various agents and publishers for months. At the time (1973), the feeling was that Earl was not well known enough outside of Bluegrass to recover their publishing and promotion costs from expected slim book sales. This was before the internet or office/home computers or cell phones. The project would have taken a couple years and countless expenses traveling across the country interviewing all those associated with Earl’s life. Time intervened and the project faded, with much regret. I still imagine that biography guided by Earl himself, with every detail verified and illuminated, with most of those associated with Earl’s life still alive.
The J.D. Crowe Photographs
In 1983, I had the privilege of visiting the home of J.D. Crowe in Lexington, Kentucky due to my association with the magazine Banjo Soundsheet as photo editor. Banjo Soundsheet ended publication later that same year, but the publisher and myself came away with a magical day of recorded banjo picking samples by J.D. and the photographs you see on this website. Both the color and black & white photos were taken in JD’s living room.
Sometime later, I met with Rounder Records, then in Cambridge, MA, for the prospect of using one of the color photos of J.D. as a CD cover for a much anticipated J.D. Crowe instrumental album thought to be forthcoming. In the same vein as Earl’s Foggy Mountain Banjo album, it would have been an instant classic. But for reasons unknown, the album was never produced. So into my film storage went the negatives and transparencies, along with those of Earl for the next few decades.
J.D., like Earl, had the gift of musical genius, but he also had the same warm, gentle kindness and low-key humor as Earl. A real gentleman of the first order.