1946  And Bluegrass Was Born

Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs record for the first time with Bill Monroe in Columbia Records' Chicago studio. The day yields the original version of "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and the chart hit "Toy Heart."

Scruggs joined Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in late 1945, and quickly popularized his syncopated, three-finger picking style. Scruggs joined a highly accomplished group that included singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, and would soon include fiddler Chubby Wise, and bassist Howard Watts. This make-up of the Bluegrass Boys is often considered to be the first bluegrass band.

In 1948 Scruggs and Flatt left Monroe's band and formed the Foggy Mountain Boys, also later known simply as Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt and Scruggs became members of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s.

Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky colonel in 1966. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three.

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