Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Lester Flatt
Person · male · United States · Overton County · born 1914 · died 1979 · recording since 1970
American singer-songwriter
streamingticketsdatabasedatabasedatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as レスター・フラット
Timeline
15 events▣ Album 11◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1✦ Award 1
1910s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: The One and Only
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
Biography
English biography396 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1321191980
Biography
Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American singer, bluegrass guitarist, and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs.
Flatt's career spanned multiple decades, breaking out as a member of Bill Monroe's band during the 1940s and including multiple solo and collaboration works exclusive of Scruggs. He first reached a mainstream audience through his performance on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", the theme for the network television series The Beverly Hillbillies, in the early 1960s.
Biography
Flatt was born in Duncan's Chapel, Overton County, Tennessee, United States, to Nannie Mae Haney and Isaac Columbus Flatt. In 1943, he played mandolin and sang tenor in The Kentucky Pardners, the band of Bill Monroe's older brother Charlie. He first came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1945 and played a thumb-and-index guitar style that was in part derived from the playing of Charlie Monroe and Clyde Moody. In 1948, he started a band with fellow Monroe alumnus Earl Scruggs, and for the next 20 years, Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys were one of the most successful bands in bluegrass. When they parted ways in 1969, Flatt formed a new group, the Nashville Grass, hiring many of the Foggy Mountain Boys. He continued to record and perform with that group until his death in 1979. His role as rhythm guitarist and vocalist in each of these seminal ensembles helped define the sound of traditional bluegrass music. His solid guitar playing and rich lead voice are unmistakable in hundreds of bluegrass standards. He is also remembered for his library of compositions.
Death and legacy
Flatt died of heart failure in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 64.
He was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 along with Scruggs. Flatt was also posthumously inducted as an inaugural member of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991.
Lester's hometown of Sparta, Tennessee, held a bluegrass festival in his honor for a number of years, before being discontinued a few years prior to the death of the traditional host, resident Everette Paul England; Lester Flatt Memorial Bluegrass Day remains part of the annual Liberty Square Celebration held in Sparta.
Flatt and Scruggs were ranked No. 24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 20 | 87.1th |
| Studio albums | 11 | 91.9th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 15 | 91.2th |
| Recording span (years) | 9 | 24.5th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (20 release groups · 11 studio albums)
Albums · 11
1970 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 27:30
A1Drink That Mash and Talk That Trash2:35A2Daddy Sang Bass2:40A3Yonder Stands Little Maggie2:10A4Mocking Banjo2:05A5Down the Road2:15A6I’d Like to Have Papa Show Me Around2:45B1The Sunny Side of the Mountain2:50B2Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms2:20B3Flatland Two Step2:15B4We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart2:50B5I’m Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open2:451970 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 27:55
A1Reuben James2:47A2Regina2:34A3See Ruby Fall2:37A4Mississippi Flood2:35A5Before I Met You2:30A6Rainbow of My Dreams2:18B1I Been Walkin’2:07B2I Live the Life of Riley2:00B3Li’l Dave2:00B4Great Big Woman2:39B5She Belongs to Me3:481971 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 24:46
1You're The Best Of All The Leading Brands2:142Special2:273Homestead On The Farm2:414Your Love Is Like A Flower2:455Now That You Have Me2:056The Bluebirds Singing For Me2:487Will You Be Loving Another Man2:338Jimmy Brown The Newsboy2:219Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong2:2310I'll Never Love Another2:291972 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 25:36
A1February Snow2:52A2Cabin On The Hill2:40A3Cuttin' The Grass2:48A4The Good Old Fashioned Way2:32A5Love Is The Key2:13B1Foggy Mountain Breakdown2:22B2I Got It On My Mind, Today2:48B3She Didn't Say Goodbye2:37B4It's Sad To Be Alone2:17B5Good Ole You Know Who2:271972 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 24:58
A1Salty Dog Blues2:09A2Just a Strand From2:51A3Mama's and Daddy's Little Girl2:33A4How Lonely Can You Get?2:28A5I'm Waiting to Hear You Call Me Darling2:42B1On the Southbound2:16B2Are You Coming Back to Me2:16B3You Can't Trust a Friend Anymore2:25B4Me & Your Memory2:31B5When You Are Lonely2:47Country Boy Featuring Feudin' Banjos
1973 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 24:10
A1The Country Boy2:32A2Feudin’ Banjos1:41A3I’d Like to Have Papa Show Me Around2:03A4No Place to Pillow My Head2:20A5One Bad Case of the Blues2:35B1Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’2:41B2Nashville Grass Breakdown2:10B3My Little Girl’s Little Girl2:40B4My Arms Will Make You Forget2:43B5Her Sweet Love’s Callin’ Me2:45Over the Hills to the Poorhouse
1973 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 26:44
A1Over the Hills to the Poorhouse3:10A2'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered2:54A3When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again2:50A4More Pretty Girls Than One2:34A5I'll Go Stepping Too2:45B1The Girl I Love Don't Pay Me2:29B2Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me2:40B3I'm a Stranger in This World2:40B4Blue Ridge Cabin Home2:28B5Waiting for the Boys to Come2:141975 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 30:31
A1I'm Going That Way2:49A2Brother, I'm Getting Ready to Go2:17A3What a Friend We Have in Jesus2:29A4He's Coming Back2:09A5Go Home2:57A6Let the Church Roll On2:18B1Awaiting the Boatman2:48B2God Love His Children2:35B3Call Me on Home2:20B4I've Been Awaiting2:52B5He Didn't Stop at Calvary2:31B6You Can Feel It in Your Soul2:261975 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 35:32
A1Come Back Darling2:38A2The Wreck of the Old '972:46A3Remarks0:40A4Some Old Day2:45A5Listen to the Mockingbird3:56A6When It's Time for the Whippoorwill to Sing2:36A7Remarks0:40A8Down the Road2:01B1I Won't Care (A Hundred Years From Now)2:19B2It Was Only the Wind3:04B3Remarks0:20B4My Cabin in Caroline3:20B5Remarks0:28B6I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open2:42B7Foggy Mountain Chimes2:09B8That Old Book of Mine3:081976 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 20 tracks · 50:53
Disc 1A1I Don't Get Anymore2:20A2Is It Too Late Now2:41A3Shuckin' The Corn2:13A4The Legend Of The Johnson Boys2:41A5Please Don't Wake Me2:45B1Good Times Are Past And Gone2:19B2Drink That Mash And Talk That Trash2:35B3Why Don't You Tell Me So3:10B4Gonna Have Myself A Ball2:04B5The Ballad Of Jed Clampett2:09Disc 2C1Why Did You Wander2:25C2Regina2:39C3I Live The Life Of Riley2:17C4Foggy Mountain Special2:01C5We Can't Be Darlings Anymore2:58D1I Still Miss Someone2:43D2Black Eyed Suzy1:41D3If I Should Wander Back Tonight3:03D4Bummin' An Old Freight Train3:29D5Thinking About You2:401976 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 27:40
A1Dixie Flyer1:56A2A Home Without Love Is Just a House2:22A3Great Big Woman2:32A4The Night Daddy Passed Away2:34A5You Know You Caused It All by Telling Lies2:22A6The House of Bottles and Cans2:18B1Heaven's Bluegrass Band2:35B2Ten Years of Heartaches2:39B3Love Me Lorena2:36B4Gone With the Delta Queen2:52B5I'm Gonna Sit Down Beside My Jesus2:54
Album · 8
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Lester Flatts' Greatest PerformanceSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks · 31:14A1Martha White Theme1:00 A2Lester Flatt's Greatest Performance3:40 A3I'm Gonna Sit Down Beside My Jesus2:54 A4In The Garden3:04 A5Get In Line Brother2:15 A6Father's Table Grace3:17 B1Heaven's Bluegrass Band2:35 B2What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul3:05 B3Little Brown Church2:49 B4Will The Circle Be Unbroken3:22 B5Tribute To Lester Flatt3:13 | Compilation | 1979 | |
| 1982 | Bluegrass Gold: Greatest Bluegrass Hits/ Volume 1Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks · 26:39A1If I Should Wander Back Tonight3:03 A2Before I Met You2:25 A3Farewell Blues2:38 A4On My Mind2:40 A5Introduction By Lester Flatt0:20 A6The Night Daddy Passed Away2:34 B1All The Good Times Are Past And Gone2:19 B2Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms2:16 B3He Took Your Place3:33 B4Foggy Mountain Special2:01 B5Head Over Heels2:50 | Compilation | 1982 | |
| 2003 | The Essential Lester Flatt & the Nashville GrassSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 20 tracks · 51:591I Don't Care Anymore2:24 2Is It Too Late Now2:45 3Shuckin' the Corn (Instrumental)2:16 4The Legend of the Johnson Boys2:44 5Please Don't Wake Me2:49 6Good Times Are Past and Gone2:22 7Drink That Mash and Talk That Trash2:38 8Why Don't You Tell Me So3:14 9Gonna Have Myself a Ball2:07 10The Ballad of Jed Clampett2:12 11Why Did You Wander2:28 12Regina2:42 13I Live the Life of Riley2:20 14Foggy Mountain Special (Instrumental)2:04 15We Can't Be Darlings Anymore3:01 16I Still Miss Someone2:47 17Black Eyed Suzy1:44 18If I Should Wander Back Tonight3:07 19Bummin' an Old Freight Train3:32 20Thinking About You2:43 | Compilation | 14 January 2003 | |
| 2003 | RCA Country LegendsSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 16 tracks · 39:461Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms2:56 2It’s Sad to Be Alone2:20 3Little Cabin Home on the Hill2:54 4Cedar Hill2:05 5Everything We Had Goin’ Is Gone2:31 6Backin’ to Birmingham2:47 7Pick Away2:07 8McCormick String Picnic1:59 9Over the Hills to the Poorhouse3:13 10You’re Still Mine Tonight2:43 11Don't Get Above Your Raisin’2:45 12One Bad Case of the Blues2:40 13Foggy Mountain Breakdown2:24 14Father’s Table Grace2:53 15I Can’t Tell the Boys From the Girls2:32 16The Martha White Theme0:57 | Compilation | 4 March 2003 | |
| 2012 | The Chronogical Classics: Lester Flatt 1969-1970Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 30 tracks · 1:15:481Highway 412:12 2Walkin' the Railroad Tracks2:27 3Great Big Woman2:46 4I Live the Life of Riley2:03 5I Been Walkin'2:06 6Aiken, South Carolina2:11 7Regina2:33 8Lil' Dave2:01 9Mississippi Flood2:36 10Don't Wake Me2:44 11Ten Years of Heartaches3:21 12Before I Met You2:30 13Maiden's Prayer2:14 14Lookin' for a Break2:48 15Vic's Ride2:34 16Reuben James2:44 17See Rudy Fall2:38 18Rainbow of My Dreams2:18 19She Belongs to Me3:49 20Drink That Mash and Talk That Trash2:29 21Daddy Sang Bass2:41 22Yonder Stands Little Maggie2:11 23Mockin' Banjo1:57 24Down the Road2:08 25I'd Like to Have Papa Show Me Around2:47 26The Sunny Side of the Mountain2:50 27Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms2:33 28Flatland Two-Step2:16 29We'll Meet Again Sweetheart2:39 30I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open2:42 | Compilation | 2012 | |
| 2012 | The Chronogical Classics: Lester Flatt 1970-1971Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 27 tracks · 1:07:581I Can't Tell the Boys From the Girls2:30 2Let Our Love Shine Through2:41 3Flatt Lonesome2:43 4Everybody Has One (But You)2:20 5I'll Be Over You2:38 6The Good Old Fashioned Way2:33 7Pick Away2:06 8She's a Little Bit Country2:35 9Backin' to Birmingham2:44 10Head Over Heels in Love2:11 11Father's Table Grace2:51 12Little Cabin Home on the Hill2:52 13Cabin on the Hill2:41 14Cedar Hill2:03 15Everything We Had Goin' Is Gone2:29 16The Bluebirds Are Singing for Me2:48 17We'll Meet Again Sweetheart2:46 18How Lonely Can You Get2:31 19Will You Be Loving Another Man2:33 20Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong2:22 21Homestead on the Farm2:42 22Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy2:20 23Now That You Have Me2:04 24I'll Never Love Another2:28 25You're the Best of All the Leading Brands2:15 26Your Love Is Like a Flower2:46 27Special2:26 | Compilation | 2012 | |
| 2012 | The Chronogical Classics: Lester Flatt 1971-1972Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 28 tracks · 1:10:231Don't Take It So Hard Mr. Webster2:32 2Up a Creek Without a Paddle2:22 3She Didn't Say Goodbye2:38 4Jesus Gold3:02 5Is Anybody Goin' North to Cincinnati2:24 6Cuttin' the Grass2:49 7Good Ole You Know Who2:28 8I Got It on My Mind, Today2:50 9Kentucky Ridgerunner2:37 10Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms2:55 11The Martha White Theme0:57 12You're Still Mine Tonight2:42 13I'll Stay Around2:46 14Salty Dog Blues2:12 15Just a Strand From a Yellow Curl2:53 16Mama's and Daddy's Little Girl2:35 17Blue Ridge Cabin Home2:31 18Me and Your Memory2:32 19Waiting for the Boys to Come Home2:15 20On the South Bound2:18 21I'm Waiting to Hear You Call Me Darling2:44 22Are You Coming Back to Me2:17 23When You Are Lonely2:49 24You Can't Trust a Friend Anymore2:27 25February Snow2:53 26It's Sad to Be Alone2:18 27Love Is the Key2:14 28Foggy Mountain Breakdown2:23 | Compilation | 2012 | |
| 2015 | Flatt on Victor Plus MoreSearch SpotifySearch YouTube Music | Compilation | 2015 |
Other · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Pickin' TimeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks · 34:401It's Pickin' Time2:57 2Goin' Up On Black Mountain2:53 3I Love You Until I Am Dizzy2:35 4Bluegrass Shuffle2:17 5Cabin on the Hill2:54 6We Don't Care What Mama Allow3:22 7Uncle Billy Play Your Fiddle for Me2:46 8If You Ain't Tried It Don't Knock It2:49 9I'll Be All Smiles Tonight2:46 10On My Mind3:06 11Auction Sale3:19 12Little Brown Church (In the White Oak Grove)2:56 | 16 June 2023 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Lester Flatt head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 20 | 87.1th |
| Studio albums | 11 | 91.9th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 15 | 91.2th |
| Recording span (years) | 9 | 24.5th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Grammy Hall of Fame | lifetime | |
| 2000 | Grammy Hall of Fame | lifetime |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs(band) | — | present | eponymous |
| Flatt and Scruggs(band) | — | present | guitar |
| Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys(band) | 1945 | 1948 |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earl_Scruggs_and_Lester_Flatt.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a9468a9a-b5ea-43b8-85c7-d86542bd2537discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a9468a9a-b5ea-43b8-85c7-d86542bd2537core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1346706genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1346706seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Flattbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Flatt
Why this artist is in the database
- List of bluegrass musicians
- List of country music performers
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1346706 · MusicBrainz: a9468a9a-b5ea-43b8-85c7-d86542bd2537
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 3 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.
Sonny Curtis
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1967, 3 years apart · from United States
16 wikis
Flaco Jiménez
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1972, 2 years apart · from United States
17 wikis
Bill Medley
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1968, 2 years apart · from United States
19 wikis
Ricky Skaggs
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1971, 1 year apart · from United States
19 wikis
Gene Clark
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1967, 3 years apart · from United States
24 wikis
John Prine
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1971, 1 year apart · from United States
25 wikis
Bob Weir
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1972, 2 years apart · from United States
27 wikis
Roger McGuinn
United States · Person
country music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1973, 3 years apart · from United States
27 wikis