Earl Eugene Scruggs (born January 6, 1924, Shelby, North Carolina-died March 28, 2012, Nashville, Tennessee) was a musician noted for creating a banjo style (now called Scruggs style and also formerly known as the three-finger style) that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. Scruggs joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in late 1945 and his syncopated, three-finger picking style quickly became a sensation. In 1948 Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt left Monroe's band and formed Flatt and Scruggs.