Scruggs was born January 6, 1924, in Flint Hill, Cleveland County, North Carolina, a small community just outside of Boiling Springs, about 10 miles west of Shelby. His father, George Elam Scruggs, was a farmer and a bookkeeper who died of a protracted illness when Earl was four years old.[2] Upon his death, Scruggs' mother, Georgia Lula Rupee (called Lula), was left to take care of the farm and five children, of which Earl was the youngest.