Notes & Queries – October 2025
Q: I just found that Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs actually recorded “The Family Who Prays Never Shall Part.” I know this is an old Louvin Brothers song, but do you know by chance when Flatt and Scruggs recorded it? Wayne Hoffman, via email.
A: The song was never commercially recorded by Flatt & Scruggs, but it did appear on a 1991 CD that was released on the Radio Gems label. The brief notes that came with the disc stated that “besides cutting commercial recordings for Mercury and Columbia records and doing radio shows for a variety of radio stations throughout the Southeast, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs also recorded a string of 12” and 16” radio transcriptions for various sponsors. All the songs you hear on this compilation were taken from 16” radio transcriptions and were all recorded in the period between 1954 and 1957.” And, speaking specifically about the song in question, “the greatest surprise to collectors of Bluegrass music is the recording of THE FAM
