The world's most influential banjo player, Earl Scruggs was born on this date in the Flint Hill community of Cleveland County, North Carolina. He popularized a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His style of playing was radically different from the traditional way the five-string banjo had previously been played. Earl Scruggs died March 28, 2012 in Nashville at age 88. | GatorRock

“Reuben” was the first tune Earl Scruggs ever played using his three-finger style. After an argument with his brother Horace, his mother sent him to the front room of the house to cool off. Earl picked up his banjo and began playing the only way he knew how until, almost without thinking, his middle finger slipped in. In that instant, everything changed. What came out of that became known as Scruggs style, a technique so singular that only a handful of musicians can truly say they play in a styl