Top 10 Best Bluegrass PickersThe establishment of bluegrass music as its own genre is credited to Bill Monroe – a man with such a virtuosity on the mandolin as wasn't really seen at that point in country music. This set a fairly high bar for what kind of picking would come to bluegrass as it evolved.
Here's a list of ten of the most influential and unforgettable pickers in the history of bluegrass music. One of the original Blue Grass Boys, Lester Flatt went on to make his biggest marks in his collaborations with banjo innovator Earl Scruggs (see below). Flatt & Scrugss was one of the most successful and most revered groups in traditional bluegrass, and Flatt's incredible command of the guitar fretboard has made him undeniably one of the most influential bluegrass guitar pickers ever. |
Another Blue Grass Boy original, Scruggs left the group in 1948 and later joined back up with Lester Flatt to form the Foggy Mountain Boys. Scruggs is credited with developing the popular Scruggs' Style of banjo picking which, along with clawhammer, so dominates the bluegrass landscape to this day. 3. Jimmy MartinKnown as the "King of Bluegrass," Jimmy Martin is said to have completely changed the sound of the Blue Grass Boys when he joined the group. He later played with the Osborn Brothers before starting the Sunny Mountain Boys in 1955. His guitar picking style was simpler than Flatts, but was consistently impressive, and has influenced countless pickers since. Bill Monroe's fierce mandolin picking may not be what made him the most famous, but it sure was sweet. His ferocity on the instrument transcended anything previously heard in the country and americana communities, and set a sharp precedent for mandolin players in bluegrass bands ever since. 5. George ShufflerGeorge Shuffler got his start with the Stanley Brothers, where he basically created and perfected the art of cross-picking. Shuffler's brand of cross-picking has since been loosened up by contemporary cross-pickers like Tony Rice, but his influence in bluegrass guitar picking is strong and undeniable. Bluegrass and Old Time flatpicker Doc Watson is practically synonymous with the term "flatpicking." His incredible expertise all along the fretboard has inspired an incredible amount of bluegrass, folk, and rock guitarists since then, including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. 7. Merle TravisMerle Travis is another picker who was so darn good, he managed to get his own style of guitar picking named after him. "Travis picking" was inspired when Merle was just a kid, and was highly influenced by the picking of Mose Rager. He made his radio debut when he was just 19, and already was such an incredible guitarist that he impressed everyone who heard him play. Although his work tends more toward Western Swing than traditional bluegrass, his influence is felt throughout both genres. 8. J.D. CroweJ.D. Crowe started playing banjo when he was 13 years old, and was heavily influenced by the work of banjo master Earl Scruggs. Although he spent some time in the 1960s being influenced by the rock and roll scene, he started The New South in the 70s. His picking style marries blues, rock, bluegrass, and old country, and has become a huge influence to the progressive bluegrass and "newgrass" artists of today. Charlie Poole is so good, he got a bluegrass festival named after him. In the 1920s, he and his North Carolina Ramblers were one of the most popular string bands. Although his music is most often now referred to as Old Time, Poole's brand of innovative banjo picking was no doubt a precursor to what would become Bluegrass. 10. Ralph StanleyAs one half of the Stanley Brothers, Ralph started out playing clawhammer style, and later developed his own style of picking, sometimes known as "Stanley style." Largely influenced by the three-finger Scruggs style, Stanley innovated this technique by adding rapid forward rolls.
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