Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 - May 11, 1979) was one of the pioneers… Read Full Bio ↴Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 - May 11, 1979) was one of the pioneers of bluegrass music.
Flatt was born in Jackson County, Tennessee to Nannie Mae Haney and Isaac Columbus Flatt.[1] A singer and guitarist, he first came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s. In 1948 he started a band with fellow Monroe alumnus Earl Scruggs, and for the next twenty years Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys were one of the most successful bands in bluegrass. When they parted ways in 1969, Flatt formed a new group, the Nashville Grass, hiring most of the Foggy Mountain Boys. His role as lead singer and rhythm guitar player in each of these seminal ensembles helped define the sound of traditional bluegrass music. He created a role in the Bluegrass Boys later filled by the likes of Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Peter Rowan and Del McCoury. His rich lead voice is unmistakable in hundreds of bluegrass standards. He is also always remembered for his library of compositions. The Flatt songbook looms titanic for any student of American acoustic music. He continued to record and perform with that group until his death in 1979. Flatt was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 with Scruggs. He was posthumously made an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991.
Flatt and Scruggs were ranked #24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men in Country Music in 2003.
Flatt was born in Jackson County, Tennessee to Nannie Mae Haney and Isaac Columbus Flatt.[1] A singer and guitarist, he first came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s. In 1948 he started a band with fellow Monroe alumnus Earl Scruggs, and for the next twenty years Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys were one of the most successful bands in bluegrass. When they parted ways in 1969, Flatt formed a new group, the Nashville Grass, hiring most of the Foggy Mountain Boys. His role as lead singer and rhythm guitar player in each of these seminal ensembles helped define the sound of traditional bluegrass music. He created a role in the Bluegrass Boys later filled by the likes of Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Peter Rowan and Del McCoury. His rich lead voice is unmistakable in hundreds of bluegrass standards. He is also always remembered for his library of compositions. The Flatt songbook looms titanic for any student of American acoustic music. He continued to record and perform with that group until his death in 1979. Flatt was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 with Scruggs. He was posthumously made an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991.
Flatt and Scruggs were ranked #24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men in Country Music in 2003.
Flint Hill Special
Lester Flatt Lyrics
Instrumental
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Bob Beck
There is no increase on perfection. Earl Scruggs the best banjo player ever. Never to be surpassed, never to be overtaken.
brandon daniels
listen to Carl Jackson, much better
Freeda Peeple
@brandon daniels No, he isn't
Freeda Peeple
Mark Lanton Yeah, Mary should be WAY better known than she is. I'm sure Earl himself would agree.
VCC Bro
Ralph? Lol they should have had a pick off.
Seneca TheFuka
Maybe you then also like Paddy's gone to France from the Dubliners
Greg Booth
There would be no sound at all without strings and a good banjo of course, but it's Earl's hands, head and heart that is mainly responsible for his tone, the sound that started countless imitators and wannabes on a quest to achieve it.
MICHAEL HENSLEY
If you listen to the original Mercury recording of Foggy Mountain Breakdown, it's not the speed or the fact that he does not take a break. It's the timing and spacing between the notes that are so precise. Especially in a time when recording equipment was extremely limited. Please listen to the original recording of Bluegrass Breakdown and try to imagine having never heard a banjo played like that before. No one knew a banjo could be played like that. cont.
Matt M
But this is flint hill special, not foggy mountain breakdown.
Am I missing your point?
Kirsty
Theres always one smart arse