Banjo music

Watson, who died in 2012, was a pioneering bluegrass, country and folk guitarist and singer who changed the way people thought about mountain music. Originally broadcast in 1988 and 1989.

Ed Helms plays a paper pusher on The Office and an insurance salesman in the new comedy Cedar Rapids — but on Thursday's Fresh Air, he plays the banjo. With his band The Lonesome Trio, he joins Terry Gross for an in-studio performance and a chat about his latest film.

Earl Scruggs' name is almost synonymous with the banjo. And for a good reason, too — he helped pioneer Bluegrass music with his three-finger banjo picking technique, now known as "Scruggs Style."

Earl Scruggs, who turned 80 on Jan. 6, originated the staccato three-finger, five-string banjo technique that became known as the "Scruggs style." He got his start playing with Bill Monroe's band in the 1940s, and then teamed up with guitarist Lester Flatt (fronting The Foggy Mountain Boys). The two penned and recorded the tune "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" which was used on the Bonnie and Clyde film soundtrack and was one of the first crossover hits of the genre.

Otis Taylor brings his banjo to the studio for a concert and conversation. We'll hear tracks from his new CD, White African. Taylor plays guitar and ukelele in addition to banjo. His music is often described as minimalist, and his lyrics are often stories of race and racism. He's been compared to John Lee Hooker.

Rock historian Ed Ward on Moran Lee Boggs, otherwise known as Dock Boggs, who played banjo like a blues guitar in the 1920s. Boggs died in 1971. His recordings have been collected on a new CD "Dock Boggs: Country Blues" (Reventant label)

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at the birth of the country music industry, during the early days of Fiddlin' John Carson, A.P. Carter and his wife, Sarah, and the Tenneva Ramblers.

Banjo and pedal steel guitar player Winnie Winston will perform several pieces. A four-time world champion on the banjo at the country's top bluegrass competition, the Union Grove Old Time Fiddler's Convention in North Carolina, Winston has played with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Dave Bromberg and the late Steve Goodman.