One of the hottest underground collector’s item for serious fans of the early days of bluegrass music have been the various audio tapes, CDs, videos and DVDs of live Flatt & Scruggs performances from the 1950s and 60s. Folks who remember those days recall that Lester and Earl seemed to be everywhere back then, and these bootleg copies of their many television appearances have become cherished keepsakes for fans, and students of the banjo in particular.
While furtively trading copies of these TV appearances, a common topic of discussion would be why these classic performances were never released commercially. Surely there was an interest in such a venture, both among fans and financially, so the refrain would go.
At long last, it appears that a set of Flatt & Scruggs TV shows is to be released on DVD, with two volumes expected in March from Shanachie. There are no details yet shown on the Shanachie site, but we did find pre-release ordering available from Amazon.com.
Both volumes are tittled Best of Flatt & Scruggs TV Show – Classic Bluegrass from 1956 to 1962. Amazon.com has no details about songs, but orders are being accepted there now for both Volume 1 and Volume 2.
These DVDs will surely be widely available from bluegrass-oriented resellers once they have been released (3/13/07). It appears that distribution will be handled by Koch, should any retailers want to contact them about carrying it.
