Flint Hills
Region
Country	United States
States	Kansas,  Oklahoma
Region	Great Plains
City	Manhattan, Kansas (largest)
Elevation	512 m (1,680 ft)
Coordinates	37°17′00″N 96°40′31″W / 37.2833333°N 96.67528°W / 37.2833333; -96.67528
Length	320 km (199 mi)
Width	130 km (81 mi)
Area	212,380 km2 (82,000 sq mi)
Biome	Temperate grassland
Geology	Permian Limestone
Plant	Tallgrass prairie
Bird species	199[1]
Mammal species	59[1]
Percent habitat loss	24.3[1]
Percent protected	2.68[1]
Map of the Flint Hills ecoregion
Website: Natural Kansas: The Kansas Flint Hills

The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills,^[2] are a band of hills in eastern Kansas stretching into north-central Oklahoma, extending from Marshall County, Kansas and Washington County, Kansas in the north to Cowley County, Kansas and Osage County, Oklahoma in the south.^[3] Oklahomans generally refer to the same geologic formation as the Osage Hills. The Flint Hills are designated as a distinct ecoregion because it has the most dense coverage of intact tallgrass prairie in North America. Due to its rocky soil, the early settlers of European origin were unable to plow the area, resulting in the predominance of cattle ranches, which are in turn largely benefited by the tallgrass prairie. Highest point is Butler County High Point, with an elevation of 1680 feet (512 meters).^[4]

Description[link]

Explorer Zebulon Pike first coined the name the Flint Hills in 1806 when he entered into his journal, "passed very ruff flint hills". The underlying bedrock of the hills is a flinty limestone. The largest town in the area is Manhattan, Kansas and the hills can be accessed from the Flint Hills Scenic Byway which passes through in Kansas.

Geology[link]

The Flint Hills were created approximately 250 million years ago during the Permian Period. During this time much of the Midwest, including Kansas and Oklahoma, were covered with shallow seas. As a result, much of the Flint Hills are composed of limestone and shale with plentiful fossils of prehistoric sea creatures. The most notable layer of chert-bearing limestone is the Florence Limestone Member. It is approximately 45 feet thick; numerous roadcuts of the Florence Member are prominent along Interstate 70 in Riley County, Kansas. Many of the honey-colored limestones have been used for building blocks. The non-chert-bearing limestones are best for this, since the chert is extremely hard to cut, yet it can fracture quite easily.

Environment[link]

The EPA and the World Wildlife Fund have designated the Flint Hills as an ecoregion, distinct from other grasslands of the Great Plains.^[5][6]

Beginning in the mid-19th century, homesteaders replaced the American Indians in the Flint Hills. Due to shallow outcroppings of limestone and chert corn and wheat farming were not practical over much of the area and cattle ranching became the main agricultural activity in the region. Therefore not having been ploughed over and still sparsely developed today, the Flint Hills represent the last expanse of intact tallgrass prairie in the nation and the best opportunity for sustained preservation of this unique habitat that once covered the Great Plains. Most of the plains, such as the Central tall grasslands to the north, have better soil than the Flint Hills and had a richer plant cover but have almost entirely been converted to farmland.^[3] Tallgrass prairie is regularly renewed by fire and grazing, which also keep back the growth of trees and shrubs. Prominent grass species are big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans).

Animals of the grassland include the American bison, which once grazed the area in their millions were almost entirely exterminated and have now been reintroduced. The elk that also once roamed the area are now gone.

There are four tallgrass prairie preserves in the Flint Hills, the largest of which, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, (the former Barnard Ranch) in the Osage Hills near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, also boasts a large population of bison and is an important refuge for other wildlife such as the Greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido). The other preserves, all located in Kansas, are the 44 km² Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in northern Chase County, Kansas near Strong City,^[7][8] the Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve east of Cassoday, "the Prairie Chicken Capital of the World",^[9] and the Konza Prairie which is managed as a tallgrass prairie biological research station by Kansas State University.

Popular culture[link]

• William Least Heat-Moon wrote a tribute to the Flint Hills and the Kansans who live there in his book PrairyErth.

See also[link]

• Big Basin Prairie Preserve
• Konza Prairie
• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
• Jacobs Creek Flood

References[link]

External links[link]

• Flint Hills map and resources
• National Geographic photo gallery

v t e Subfields of physical geography Biogeography Climatology / Paleoclimatology Coastal geography Edaphology Geomorphology Glaciology Hydrology / Hydrography Landscape ecology Limnology Oceanography Palaeogeography Pedology/Soil science Quaternary science

v t e  State of Kansas Topeka (capital) Topics Index History Governors Delegations Landmarks People Places Geography Visitor Attractions Society Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Cherokee Strip Cross Timbers Dissected Till Plains East Central Four State Area Flint Hills High Plains North Central Osage Plains The Ozarks Red Hills Santa Fe Trail Region Smoky Hills Southeast Largest cities Derby Dodge City Emporia Garden City Hutchinson Junction City Kansas City Lawrence Leavenworth Leawood Lenexa Liberal Manhattan Olathe Overland Park Prairie Village Salina Shawnee Topeka Wichita Counties Allen Anderson Atchison Barber Barton Bourbon Brown Butler Chase Chautauqua Cherokee Cheyenne Clark Clay Cloud Coffey Comanche Cowley Crawford Decatur Dickinson Doniphan Douglas Edwards Elk Ellis Ellsworth Finney Ford Franklin Geary Gove Graham Grant Gray Greeley Greenwood Hamilton Harper Harvey Haskell Hodgeman Jackson Jefferson Jewell Johnson Kearny Kingman Kiowa Labette Lane Leavenworth Lincoln Linn Logan Lyon Marion Marshall McPherson Meade Miami Mitchell Montgomery Morris Morton Nemaha Neosho Ness Norton Osage Osborne Ottawa Pawnee Phillips Pottawatomie Pratt Rawlins Reno Republic Rice Riley Rooks Rush Russell Saline Scott Sedgwick Seward Shawnee Sheridan Sherman Smith Stafford Stanton Stevens Sumner Thomas Trego Wabaunsee Wallace Washington Wichita Wilson Woodson Wyandotte

v t e  State of Oklahoma Oklahoma City (capital) Topics History Government Governor (List) Symbols People Geography Sports Visitor Attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Arklatex Central Cherokee Outlet Cross Timbers Four State Area Flint Hills Green Country Kiamichi Country Little Dixie Northwestern Oklahoma City Metro Ouachita Mountains The Ozarks Panhandle South Central Southwestern Largest cities Broken Arrow Edmond Enid Lawton Midwest City Moore Norman Oklahoma City Stillwater Tulsa Counties Adair Alfalfa Atoka Beaver Beckham Blaine Bryan Caddo Canadian Carter Cherokee Choctaw Cimarron Cleveland Coal Comanche Cotton Craig Creek Custer Delaware Dewey Ellis Garfield Garvin Grady Grant Greer Harmon Harper Haskell Hughes Jackson Jefferson Johnston Kay Kingfisher Kiowa Latimer Le Flore Lincoln Logan Love Major Marshall Mayes McClain McCurtain McIntosh Murray Muskogee Noble Nowata Okfuskee Oklahoma Okmulgee Osage Ottawa Pawnee Payne Pittsburg Pontotoc Pottawatomie Pushmataha Roger Mills Rogers Seminole Sequoyah Stephens Texas Tillman Tulsa Wagoner Washington Washita Woods Woodward

Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was a bluegrass musician and guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as "Flatt and Scruggs," with banjo picker Earl Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he released multiple solo and collaboration works. Flatt also served as a member of Bill Monroe's band during the 1940s.

Biography[link]

Flatt was born in Duncan's Chapel, Overton County, Tennessee, to Nannie Mae Haney and Isaac Columbus Flatt. A singer and guitarist, he first came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1945. In 1948 he started a band with fellow Monroe alumnus Earl Scruggs, and for the next twenty years Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys were one of the most successful bands in bluegrass. When they parted ways in 1969, Flatt formed a new group, the Nashville Grass, hiring most of the Foggy Mountain Boys. His role as lead singer and rhythm guitar player in each of these seminal ensembles helped define the sound of traditional bluegrass music. He created a role in the Bluegrass Boys later filled by the likes of Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Peter Rowan and Del McCoury. His rich lead voice is unmistakable in hundreds of bluegrass standards.

Lester Flatt memorial in Sparta, Tennessee

He is also remembered for his library of compositions. The Flatt songbook looms titanic for any student of American acoustic music. He continued to record and perform with that group until his death in 1979 of heart failure, after a prolonged period of ill health. Flatt was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 with Scruggs. He was posthumously made an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. His hometown of Sparta, Tennessee, held a bluegrass festival in his honor for a number of years, before being discontinued a few years prior to the death of the traditional host, resident Everette Paul England; Lester Flatt Memorial Bluegrass Day is part of the annual Liberty Square Celebration held in Sparta.^[1]

Flatt and Scruggs were ranked #24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. They performed "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", which was used as the theme for the television show The Beverly Hillbillies.

Discography[link]

! Year ! Single ! US Country ! Label |- [[Folsom Prison Blues

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Rosenberg, Neil V. (1998). "Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 173–4.
• Samuelson, Dave. (1998). "Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 173.

External links[link]

• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
• Lester Flatt biography

v t e Bluegrass music Typical instruments Acoustic guitar · Banjo · Dobro · Fiddle · Mandolin · Upright bass Stylistic origins Blues · Country music · Folk music · Old-time music Sub- and fusion genres Traditional bluegrass · Progressive bluegrass · Bluegrass gospel · Czech bluegrass Notable festivals Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival · California Bluegrass Association Father's Day Bluegrass Festival · Delfest · Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival · High Sierra Music Festival · Kentucky Festival of the Bluegrass · Merlefest · San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival · South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival · River City Bluegrass Festival · Rockygrass · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · Wintergrass Other International Bluegrass Music Museum · International Bluegrass Music Association · International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame · Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America · Bluegrass Unlimited Category · Portal

Earl Scruggs
Scruggs in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Earl Eugene Scruggs
Born	(1924-01-06)January 6, 1924 Shelby, North Carolina, U.S.
Origin	Shelby, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	March 28, 2012(2012-03-28) (aged 88)[1] Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Bluegrass, country, gospel
Occupations	Bluegrass artist
Instruments	5-string banjo, guitar
Years active	1945–2012
Labels	MCA Nashville Records
Associated acts	Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, Flatt and Scruggs, Earl Scruggs Revue
Website	earlscruggs.com
Notable instruments
A 1934 Gibson Granada previously owned by Don Reno and Snuffy Jenkins, and "Nellie", a 1935 Gibson RB-3 flathead[2][3]

Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a three-finger banjo-picking style (now called "Scruggs style") that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. Although other musicians had played in three-finger style before him, Scruggs shot to prominence when he was hired by Bill Monroe to fill the banjo slot in his group, the Blue Grass Boys.

Early life[link]

Scruggs was born near Shelby, Cleveland County, North Carolina, to Georgia Lula Ruppe and George Elam Scruggs, a farmer and bookkeeper, who played banjo and died when Scruggs was four years old. His older brothers, Junie and Horace, plus his two older sisters, Eula Mae and Ruby, all played banjo and guitar. Scruggs' mother played the organ.^[4] He grew up in Cleveland County, North Carolina.^[5]

Career[link]

Scruggs joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in late 1945, and quickly popularized his syncopated, three-finger picking style. In 1948 Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt left Monroe's band and formed the Foggy Mountain Boys, also later known simply as Flatt and Scruggs. In 1969, they broke up, and he started a new band, the Earl Scruggs Revue, featuring several of his sons.

On September 24, 1962, singer Jerry Scoggins, Lester Flatt and Scruggs recorded "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" for the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies, which was released October 12, 1962. The theme song became an immediate country music hit and was played at the beginning and end of each episode. Flatt and Scruggs appeared in several episodes as family friends of the Clampetts in the following years. In their first appearance (season 1 episode 20), they portray themselves in the show and perform both the theme song and "Pearl Pearl Pearl".

On November 15, 1969, Scruggs played his Grammy-winning "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" on an open-air stage in Washington, D.C., at the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, becoming one of the very few bluegrass or country-western artists to give support to the anti-war movement.^[6] In an interview after his performance, Scruggs said:^[7]

I think the people in the South is just as concerned as the people that's walkin' the streets here today ... I'm sincere about bringing our boys back home. I'm disgusted and in sorrow about the boys we've lost over there. And if I could see a good reason to continue, I wouldn't be here today.

In January 1973, a tribute concert was held for Scruggs in Manhattan, Kansas. Among the artists playing were Joan Baez, David Bromberg, The Byrds, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Doc and Merle Watson. The concert was filmed and turned into the 1975 documentary film Banjoman.^[8]

Awards and honors[link]

Flatt and Scruggs won a Grammy Award in 1969 for Scruggs' instrumental "Foggy Mountain Breakdown". They were inducted together into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1989, Scruggs was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship. He was an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. In 1992, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 1994, Scruggs teamed up with Randy Scruggs and Doc Watson to contribute the song "Keep on the Sunny Side" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Earl Scruggs and Tim Cooney

In 2002 Scruggs won a second Grammy award for the 2001 recording of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", which featured artists such as Steve Martin on 2nd banjo solo (Martin played the banjo tune on his 1970s stand-up comic acts), Vince Gill and Albert Lee on electric guitar solos, Paul Shaffer on piano, Leon Russell on organ, and Marty Stuart on mandolin. The album, Earl Scruggs and Friends, also featured artists such as John Fogerty, Elton John, Sting, Johnny Cash, Don Henley, Travis Tritt, and Billy Bob Thornton.^[9]

On February 13, 2003, Scruggs received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That same year, he and Flatt were ranked No. 24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.

On September 13, 2006, Scruggs was honored at Turner Field in Atlanta as part of the pre-game show for an Atlanta Braves home game. Organizers set a world record for the most banjo players (239) playing one tune together (Scruggs' "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"). On February 10, 2008, Scruggs was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

Personal life[link]

Scruggs' wife and manager, Louise, died on February 2, 2006, aged 78, at Nashville's Baptist Hospital following a lengthy illness.^[10]

Death and funeral[link]

Scruggs died from natural causes on the morning of March 28, 2012, in a Nashville hospital.^[11][12] His funeral was held on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at the Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee at 2pm and was open to the public. He was buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in a private service.

Legacy[link]

At an 80th birthday party for Scruggs in 2004, country singer Porter Wagoner said, “Earl was to the five-string banjo what Babe Ruth was to baseball.” “He is the best there ever was”, Wagoner said, “and the best there ever will be.”^[13]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Guest singles[link]

Music videos[link]

DVDs[link]

• Earl Scruggs – His Family and Friends (2005)

  (Recorded 1969. Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Bill Monroe, Joan Baez et al.)

• Private Sessions (2005)
• The Bluegrass Legend (2006)

Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs

• The Three Pickers (2003)

Flatt and Scruggs

• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 1 (2007)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 2 (2007)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 3 (2007)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 4 (2007)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 5 (2008)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 6 (2008)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 7 (2009)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 8 (2009)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 9 (2010)
• The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show Vol 10 (2010)

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Rosenberg, Neil V. (1998). "Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 173–4.
• Willis, Barry R. "Biography of Earl Scruggs". Retrieved October 5, 2008.
• Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Interview with www.CountryMusicPride.com Interview with www.CountryMusicPride.com
• at the Country Music Hall of Fame
• on MCA Nashville
• on Rounder Records
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
• Earl Scruggs at the Internet Movie Database
• Los Angeles Times obituary

v t e Bluegrass music Typical instruments Acoustic guitar · Banjo · Dobro · Fiddle · Mandolin · Upright bass Stylistic origins Blues · Country music · Folk music · Old-time music Sub- and fusion genres Traditional bluegrass · Progressive bluegrass · Bluegrass gospel · Czech bluegrass Notable festivals Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival · California Bluegrass Association Father's Day Bluegrass Festival · Delfest · Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival · High Sierra Music Festival · Kentucky Festival of the Bluegrass · Merlefest · San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival · South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival · River City Bluegrass Festival · Rockygrass · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · Wintergrass Other International Bluegrass Music Museum · International Bluegrass Music Association · International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame · Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America · Bluegrass Unlimited Category · Portal

Sleepy Man Banjo Boys is a bluegrass music trio from Lebanon Township, New Jersey, United States. It is composed of the Mizzone brothers: Jonny (age 10, banjo), Robbie (12, fiddle) and Tommy (14, guitar).^[1][2][3][4] The trio has appeared on the David Letterman^[5] show and twice on Huckabee. They have played at several bluegrass festivals,^[6][7] including one with J. D. Crowe and the New South, and benefits. A YouTube video of Jonny Mizzone^[8] and his brothers practicing Earl Scruggs's Flint Hill Special has been viewed more than 2 million times.^[9][10] The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys made their Grand Ole Opry debut on August 20, 2011.^[11] The group's first CD, America's Music, was released in September 2011.^[12]

Discography[link]

External links[link]

• Official SleepyManBanjoBoys website
• YouTube video the Mizzone brothers play Flint Hill Special

References[link]

v t e Bluegrass music Typical instruments Acoustic guitar · Banjo · Dobro · Fiddle · Mandolin · Upright bass Stylistic origins Blues · Country music · Folk music · Old-time music Sub- and fusion genres Traditional bluegrass · Progressive bluegrass · Bluegrass gospel · Czech bluegrass Notable festivals Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival · California Bluegrass Association Father's Day Bluegrass Festival · Delfest · Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival · High Sierra Music Festival · Kentucky Festival of the Bluegrass · Merlefest · San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival · South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival · River City Bluegrass Festival · Rockygrass · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · Wintergrass Other International Bluegrass Music Museum · International Bluegrass Music Association · International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame · Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America · Bluegrass Unlimited Category · Portal