Grand Ole Opry Program - July 14, 1956

I believe it was this trip that Paul and I ran into John Hartford at WSM while watching either the Friday Night Frolic or a Pre Opry Show. John was a fan watchin' the shows just like Paul and I when we met. I recollect we were sitting near the back on the right as you face the stage. There were no bad seats in the studio since it really only seated possibly a couple hundred people. I'm certain that Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs performed the night we met John. You can view some photos I took of them performing here in another location on this site. 

The three of us connected right away being that we were all from St. Louis and were crazy about Flatt & Scruggs and bluegrass music. I can't remember whether at this point in time John was already the Flatt & Scruggs fan club representative for the Missouri area are that came later. You'll see some fan club material in another location on this site that John got me involved with. Paul and I  became close friends with John after returning to St. Louis. We  probably started getting together about every week or two. You need to realize that at this time, to find people interested in bluegrass music was a rarity. Especially up in  a big city. The college crowd didn't start getting into bluegrass until much, much later.

Paul lived about a mile and a half from me and John maybe six miles. Paul was already pretty proficient on the guitar, He new Flatt's "G" run very well. Knowing the "G" run was essential if you were going to play any bluegrass songs. John was already an accomplished musician on the banjo and not bad with fiddle either. I played a little second on the guitar but never nearly as good as Paul. About the only lead I ever did was a tune called The Wildwood Flower. I was a big fan of Mother Maybelle, especially when it came to this song.