Lester Flatt
Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, Tennessee, 1972

Flatt and Earl Scruggs made up Flatt and Scruggs, the most commercially successful bluegrass band ever. They worked for Bill Monroe in the mid 1940s, raising the bar for all future bluegrass bands. Flatt contributed strong baritone vocals and guitar runs, while Scruggs popularized three-fingered banjo picking. Together, they toured widely from 1948 until they disbanded in 1969, playing for traditional country audiences and for younger, college-educated audiences, such as at the Newport Folk Festival. They even recorded a live album at Carnegie Hall. Their hits included 1962’' "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," the theme for television's Beverly Hillbillies and "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," the theme for the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde.