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.
Pike County Breakdown
Lester Flatt Lyrics
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@hhm140
Mercury 6396 Recorded October 20, 1950 Lester Flatt-Guitar; Earl Scruggs-Banjo; Benny Sims-Fiddle; Curly Seckler-Mandolin, Jody Rainwater-Bass.
@banjobailey1849
Can’t tell ya how many times grandpa blew his speakers getting me to listen to the 1st sting lick 😂 he’s like listen to it and get it in your mind. I have over 16 hours of this song alone seared into my head.
@jimdubya5425
And take it from me - that first string lick ain’t as easy as it sounds... to make it sound right with the right timing.
@banjobailey1849
@@jimdubya5425 it’s one of the hardest to date for me still
@TheAzmountaineer
@James Wyatt I can relate to that.
@banjomasterr
@James Wyatt I’m getting close after 10 years and I’m still only 22. I practice the first string lick at least 500 times a day still lol
@abbadon2148
@@banjomasterr amazing, glad the younger generation is at least trying to pick up the mountain music!
@Pickinbuddy
Lester and Earl had such a phenomenal sound....
@TheMrblazer76
This music makes you proud to be from Pike County, Ky. I know I am. I love the mountain music
@mahdesian
They were geniuses. They say rock and roll will never die, but Bluegrass is forever!