Earl Scruggs was a musician who played banjo.
Earl Eugene Scruggs ( January 6 , 1924 -- March 28 , 2012 ) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style , now called `` Scruggs style '' , that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music . His three-finger style of playing was radically different from the ways the five-string banjo had been historically played . He popularized the instrument in several genres of music and elevated the banjo from its role as a background rhythm instrument , or a comedian 's prop , into featured solo status . Scruggs ' banjo instrumental called `` Foggy Mountain Breakdown '' , released in 1949 , became an enduring hit , and had a rebirth of popularity to a younger generation when it was featured in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde .