Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were pivotal figures in the development and popularization of bluegrass music. Lester Raymond Flatt was born on June 19, 1914, in Duncan’s Chapel, Tennessee, and Earl Eugene Scruggs was born on January 6, 1924, in Cleveland County, North Carolina. Both musicians grew up in musically rich rural environments and initially worked in textile mills before pursuing full-time music careers.

Flatt and Scruggs first met while playing with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the mid-1940s. In 1948, they left Monroe's band to form their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys, which became one of the most successful bluegrass bands of the era. Their music gained widespread recognition through the theme song "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" for the television series The Beverly Hillbillies and "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," which was featured in the film Bonnie and Clyde.

The duo's innovative approach, particularly Scruggs' three-finger banjo picking style, helped define the bluegrass genre. They recorded numerous albums and hosted syndicated radio and TV shows, bringing bluegrass music to a broader audience. Flatt and Scruggs parted ways in 1969, with Flatt forming the Nashville Grass and continuing to perform until his death in 1979. The duo was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. Their contributions to music were further recognized when "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004.