26 May 2023

They have souls as well

The Gibson RB-Granada Mastertone #9584-3 that was the main banjo of Earl Scruggs from 1949 onwards has for some years been on loan and on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, TN, and has even been played there in special events (see the BIB for 29 Oct. 2020). Last Monday, however, saw an extremely special event there, held to mark the presentation of 9584-3 to the Museum by Earl's grandchildren. Vince Gill was master of ceremonies, revealing that he was first recorded as a banjo-player.

Bluegrass Today reports that 'music was provided by the Earls of Leicester, Sierra Ferrrell, and Alison Brown, who performed 'Earl’s breakdown' on Earl’s Granada. For that tune the Museum brought out a number of instruments that had been used by Flatt & Scruggs, including Lester Flatt’s D-28, Josh Graves’ Dobro, Paul Warren’s fiddle, and Curly Seckler’s mandolin. Jerry Douglas introduces the culminating musical episode with:

We have some instruments up here that'haven't seen each other since 1969. [...} They have souls as well. And it's a good thing for them to be able to talk to each other a bit before they go back to sleep in their respective museums. [...] These instruments are the reason why I play music at all.

A 36-minute video of the entire presentation event can be seen on BBluegrass Today and YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

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