Posted by Barry on August 24, 19101 at 01:54:23:
In Reply to: STEVEN SCRUGGS posted by RICHIE on August 23, 19101 at 00:40:41:
Steve, the youngest son of Earl and Louise, was an incredibly talented musician -- perhaps more-so than his brothers -- just ask Randy or Gary. As keyboardist for The Earl Scruggs Revue, Steve played Billy Joel style piano better than Joel himself, and (with all due respect to The Man) banjo just like his Dad -- after all, who was his teacher?
Around Thanksgiving 1975 Steve filled-in on banjo for Earl during a show at the Exit/Inn in Nashville. You see, previously Earl had a minor mishap in his plane, (I believe Randy said it was a "pea patch" that broke his Dad's fall) injured his wrist and could not make that performance. Steve never missed a lick, The Boys sounded great, and would make Papa proud.
During the late seventies/early eighties, when The Revue were in town for concerts, they occasionally stopped by for lunch -- my Dad would cook up a grille full of BBQued pork chops to go with Mom's baked beans, tater salad and banana pudding. My family thoroughly enjoyed these visits, as my parents would say "what nice, polite boys they are." Indeed, they were the most wonderful, down-to-earth, most UNpretentious people you'll ever meet.
I had the good fortune of knowing Steve quite well (in fact we dated the same girl for a while) and recorded with him a time or two at his studio in Madison -- actually, his studio in his parent's basement. After recording about a half dozen original songs one particular day we started "jamming" on some Revue tunes. The drummer had a bit of trouble keeping up, but the bassist and I had previous experience in a "Revue" clone band. We were hoping Earl would join us -- he did bring us some "soda pop" (Thank you Mr. Scruggs).To this day, that's the most fun I've ever had as a guitarist.
Later that night, we went to Steve's favorite Mexican restaurant. Can't recall the name of it, but I do remember quite a few celebrities were there. I made the mistake of letting Steve order for me: Jalapeno Chicken platter with a gin gimlet to cool down. The food was terrific, but those gimlets were awful -- and it took me several, several to realize that fact. Steve and I had a "jalapeno eating contest." He still owes me five bucks!
Recently I pulled out some old tapes that I recorded with Steve. Though most of the songs are unfinished, they actually sound pretty darn good -- and with a little polish could hold-their-own with most of the "New Country" we hear today. After all, we know The Earl Scruggs Revue were way out in front, ahead of anyone at that time, and still being copied by today's artists (whether these artists realize it or not).
So, with a little help I plan on finishing what Steve and I started years ago, and with a little luck maybe you'll get to hear some more from Steve, after all.
We miss you Stevie, and look forward, someday, to jamming again.