Skaggs And Hornsby Reinvent Bluegrass

There's really no such thing as playing piano in bluegrass music. But on their self-titled collaborative album, Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby introduced a whole new style to traditional bluegrass music.

The highly acclaimed duo, whose album has spent the past 12 weeks atop Billboard's Bluegrass album charts, stopped by The Early Show in Raleigh, N.C., to talk about their unique and successful album.

Hornsby and Skaggs have known each other for over 15 years. Skaggs explained that they reacquainted themselves when Hornsby was a guest on a television show he hosted called "Monday Night Concerts."

Skaggs believes their affinity for bluegrass drove them to complete an album together. He said, "We always had a love for bluegrass. I did an album as a tribute to Bill Monroe when he passed away in '96. And Bruce was the first guy to sign up for that. He was kind of our entrance way into this."

Skaggs said this project was one of the most memorable ones he has ever done. "The cross pollination was a great gift to both of us," he said. "Bruce turned me on to his heroes and I turned him on to some old banjo players and singers from the mountains of Kentucky, Carolina and Tennessee."

When asked why this legendary collaboration worked well, Skaggs noted Hornsby's amazing musical ability.

"(Hornsby) can play any kind of music and make it cool and make it fun. And he's just so talented. I love his heart. And he's always got great ideas. And he always puts his stamp of approval on everything he does," Skaggs said.

Hornsby joked that the reason he agreed to do the album was because of Skaggs's fame.

"I only want to work with legends, otherwise I just say 'No.' "