ebs@mcnc.UUCP (07/08/83)
In response to the question...
Yes!!! Earl Scruggs is still alive and making good/great records.
A bit of history now...
Flatt and Scruggs broke up on New Years Day 1969. Lester Flatt
continued to play the same repertoire of Flatt and Scruggs songs
with a traditional bluegrass band (the Nashville Grass) until his
death on May 11, 1979. Earl Scruggs, however, grew his hair long
and did generally unacceptable things like playing at anti-war
rallys (Vietnam) and joining the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their
epic album "Will the Circle be Unbroken". He finally formed one
of the pioneering bluegrass-rock bands "The Earl Scruggs Revue"
with three of his sons, Josh Graves on Dobro, and Vassar Clements
on Fiddle. Their first album "Live at Kansas State" is well worth
anybody's money. They have released at least a dozen albums since
then; the best ones are:
Anniversary Special (with Alvin Lee, Billy Joel, Buffy Saint-Marie
Charlie Daniels, and many, many more)
Volume II (a sequel to Anniversary Special with all of the above)
Strike Anywhere (1976 release typical of the Revue)
Top of the World (their latest, Four stars out of five in
Rolling Stone, featuring Ricky Skaggs, Rodney
Dillard, and Lacy J. Dalton)
Needless to say, these are NOT traditional bluegrass albums
(they all feature electric guitar and drums); however, the
rock audience probably would be pleasantly surprised and the
country audience would feel right at home.
All of the above releases are on Columbia and still in print
as far as I know.
Eddie (uncc)