Country Music Pioneer Earl Scruggs Dead, Age 88

Earl Scruggs, the country music pioneer who redefined classic bluegrass, has died.

FOX News Radio’s Chris Hoenig reports:

Once called the “Jimi Hendrix of the banjo,” bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs popularized the three-finger banjo-picking style that now defines bluegrass music. ?His “Ballad of Jed Clampett” became the theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies” in 1962, a song he recorded with guitarist Lester Flatt.

The duo played together for decades, starting The Foggy Mountain Boys back in 1948. ?A mainstay at the Grand ‘Ole Opry in the ’60s and ’70s, Scruggs was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.

He died Wednesday morning in Nashville of natural causes. ?Earl Scruggs was 88.

Chris Hoenig, FOX News Radio.