Earl Scruggs, John Hartford, and Rodney Dillard were asked to appear on the “Return of The Beverly Hillbillies” reunion television special (1981). This edited highlight clip shows the three legends as “the band” during the wedding scene.
Paul Henning (writer and director) was a big fan of The Dillards (they were both from Missouri and Paul actually wrote an episode of The Andy Griffith Show), and this was around the time that Earl Scruggs and Rodney Dillard launched their joint headlining tour (appearing with John Hartford on a few dates as well).
As you know, The Dillards and Earl Scruggs will forever be linked because they both brought bluegrass to mainstream America (via their appearances on The Andy Griffith Show and The Beverly Hillbillies). Before those appearances bluegrass was highly regional.
Earl was Doug Dillard’s main inspiration and Earl and Rodney were close friends throughout Earl’s life. You can read more about those stories and see lots of pictures and historical artifacts on our Facebook page, TheDillards.