CMA's Joe Talbot Award Posthumously Presented To Industry Leader Louise Scruggs
By Wendy Pearl
© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
Fifty years ago, Louise Certain Scruggs, wife of famous banjo innovator Earl Scruggs, took on the role of manager and booking agent for the now legendary bluegrass outfit Flatt and Scruggs, making her the first female manager and booking agent in Country Music history. On May 8, this extraordinary woman was posthumously honored by CMA with the presentation of the Joe Talbot Award during a reception at CMA. Earl Scruggs and sons Gary Scruggs and Randy Scruggs accepted the award on her behalf.
"With her driving business ethics and ability to see outside the box, Louise significantly helped to progress Country and bluegrass music on a global scale," said CMA COO Tammy Genovese. "She worked tirelessly throughout her life to promote Earl and the music she loved and we are proud to honor her."
Brian Mansfield, Country Music Editor for USA Today, was on hand to make the presentation to attending members of the Scruggs family.
"Louise was every bit as important to bluegrass as the men who held the instruments," Mansfield said.
Thanking CMA for the Award on behalf of his his family, Randy said of his mother, "She believed in the dignity and the respect of the artists."
The Joe Talbot Award is voted on by the CMA Board of Directors, and awarded to a person (living or deceased) in recognition of outstanding leadership and contributions to the preservation and advancement of Country Music's values and traditions. The Award was created in 2001 and bestowed posthumously on its namesake, Joe Talbot, a beloved lifetime member of the CMA Board who passed away in 2000. In 2004, Janette Carter received the Award.
"As a female executive, I wish I had been able to present this Award to Louise for all she represented to this industry as a female role model," Genovese said. "Fortunately, Louise knew before she died that she was the recipient of the Joe Talbot Award, but her failing health prevented us from presenting it to her while she was with us, but her legacy and inspiration will certainly remain."
For years, Louise Scruggs ran Scruggs Talent Agency Inc. out of the couple's Madison, Tenn., home. In 1959, she booked Earl to play at the first Newport Folk Festival. The performance was well received and Bluegrass entered the popular folk world. This significant breakthrough led to broader national gigs for Flatt and Scruggs and a call to record the theme song for the popular television show The Beverly Hillbillies.
Flatt and Scruggs went their separate ways in 1969 and Earl and sons Gary, Randy and Steve formed the Earl Scruggs Revue. Booked and managed by Louise, the band performed everywhere from the country's most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and the Fillmore Auditorium to national and international music festivals.
Louise continued working to further the music of Earl up to the time of her passing on Feb. 2, 2006. She was 78. During her life, she was at Earl's side as he received countless awards and accolades including being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1985 with Lester Flatt), winning multiple GRAMMY Awards, receiving the National Medal of the Arts and becoming a Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree.
July 25, 2006
Louise Scruggs is posthumously honored by the Country Music Association with the presentation of the Joe Talbot Award during a reception at CMA. Earl Scruggs and sons Gary Scruggs and Randy Scruggs accepted the Award on her behalf. (l-r) Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Operating Officer; Randy Scruggs; Earl Scruggs; Gary Scruggs; Brian Mansfield, former Chairman of the CMA Awards and Recognition Committee
Photo: Amanda Eckard / CMA
