Uncle John Scruggs
John H. Scruggs (May 1955 – after 1928),[1] known as Uncle John Scruggs, was an American banjo player.
Career
Scruggs was born a slave, in Buckingham County, Virginia, in 1855.[1] There exists video of him performing the folk ballad “Little Log Cabin Round the Lane” in a minstrel style. The footage was taken by the Fox Movietone News, in Powhatan, Virginia on November 8, 1928. Uncle John Scruggs played 5-string banjo in the traditional clawhammer style. There are no other known recordings of his music. He is presumed to have died in Macon, Virginia.[1]
Uncle John's image is portrayed in the mural "All in the Family II", which is on display at the Sherrod Library at East Tennessee State University. In the mural, Uncle John Scruggs is pictured in between Bill Monroe, "the Father of bluegrass music", and Earl Scruggs, who popularized the 5-string banjo in the 20th century. The mural illustrates the important role that African-American musicians have played in the evolution of American music. The mural shows that racially diverse musicians are all members of the same family.