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Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of Appalachia.^[1] It has mixed roots in Scottish, Irish and English^[2] traditional music, and also it was influenced by the music of African-Americans^[3] through incorporation of jazz elements.

Immigrants from England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland arrived in Appalachia in the 18th (and in some cases 17th) century, and brought with them the musical traditions of these countries. These traditions consisted primarily of English and Scottish ballads— which were essentially unaccompanied narratives— and dance music, such as Irish reels, which were accompanied by a fiddle.^[4] Many older Bluegrass songs come directly from the British Isles. Several Appalachian Bluegrass ballads, such as Pretty Saro, Barbara Allen, Cuckoo Bird and House Carpenter, come from England and preserve the English ballad tradition both melodically and lyrically.^[5] Others such as The Twa Sisters also come from England, however the lyrics are about Ireland.^[6] Some Bluegrass fiddle songs popular in Appalachia, such as "Leather Britches", and Pretty Polly, have Scottish roots.^[7] The dance tune Cumberland Gap may be derived from the tune that accompanies the Scottish ballad Bonnie George Campbell.^[8] Other songs have different names in different places, for instance in England there is an old ballad known as A Brisk Young Sailor Courted Me, however exactly the same song in North American Bluegrass is known as "I Wish My Baby Was Born".^[9]

In bluegrass, as in some forms of jazz, one or more instruments each takes its turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment; this is especially typified in tunes called breakdowns. This is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Breakdowns are often characterized by rapid tempos and unusual instrumental dexterity and sometimes by complex chord changes.

Bluegrass music has attracted a diverse following worldwide. Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe characterized the genre as: "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."

Characteristics[link]

Instrumentation[link]

A 5-string banjo

Unlike mainstream country music, bluegrass is traditionally played on acoustic stringed instruments. The fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass (string bass) are often joined by the resonator guitar (also referred to as a Dobro) and (occasionally) harmonica. This instrumentation originated in rural dance bands and is the basis on which the earliest bluegrass bands were formed.^[10]

The guitar is now most commonly played with a style referred to as flatpicking, unlike the style of seminal bluegrass guitarist Lester Flatt, who used a thumb and finger pick. Banjo players often use the three-finger picking style made popular by Earl Scruggs. Fiddlers will frequently play in thirds and fifths, producing a sound that is characteristic to the bluegrass style. The bassist will almost always play pizzicato, occasionally adopting the "slap-style" to accentuate the beat. A bluegrass bass line is generally a rhythmic alternation between the tonic and dominant of each chord, with occasional walking bass excursions.

Instrumentation has been an ongoing topic of debate. Traditional bluegrass performers believe the "correct" instrumentation is that used by Bill Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys (mandolin, played by Monroe, fiddle, guitar, banjo and bass). Departures from the traditional instrumentation have included accordion, harmonica, piano, autoharp, drums, electric guitar, and electric versions of other common bluegrass instruments, resulting in what has been referred to as "newgrass."

Vocals[link]

Aside from specific instrumentation, a distinguishing characteristic of bluegrass is vocal harmony featuring two, three, or four parts, often with a dissonant or modal sound in the highest voice (see modal frame), a style described as the "high, lonesome sound."^[11] Commonly, the ordering and layering of vocal harmony is called the 'stack'. A standard stack has a baritone voice at the bottom, the lead in the middle (singing the main melody) and a tenor at the top; although stacks can be altered, especially where a female voice is included. Alison Krauss and Union Station provide a good example of a different harmony stack with a baritone and tenor with a high lead, an octave above the standard melody line, sung by the female vocalist. However, by employing variants to the standard trio vocal arrangement, they were simply following a pattern existing since the early days of the genre. The Stanley Brothers utilized a high baritone part on several of their trios recorded for Columbia records during their time with that label (1950–1953). Mandolin player Pee Wee Lambert sang the high baritone above Ralph Stanley's tenor, both parts above Carter's lead vocal. This trio vocal arrangement was variously used by other groups as well. In the 1960s Flatt and Scruggs often added a fifth part to the traditional quartet parts on gospel songs, the extra part being a high baritone (doubling the baritone part sung in the normal range of that voice; Howard Watts [aka 'Cedric Rainwater] providing the part). The use of a high lead with the tenor and baritone below it was most famously employed by the Osborne Brothers who first employed it during their time with MGM records in the latter half of the 1950s. This vocal arrangement would be the defining aspect of the Osbornes' sound with Bobby's high, clear voice at the top of the vocal stack.

Themes[link]

Bluegrass tunes can largely be described as narratives on the everyday lives of the people whence the music came. Aside from laments about loves lost, interpersonal tensions and unwanted changes to the region (e.g., the visible effects of mountaintop coal mining), bluegrass vocals frequently reference the hard-scrabble existence of living in Appalachia and other rural areas with modest financial resources. Some protest music has been composed in the bluegrass style, especially concerning the vicissitudes of the Appalachian coal mining industry. Railroading has also been a popular theme, with ballads such as "Wreck of the Old 97" and "Nine Pound Hammer" (from the legend of John Henry) being exemplary.

History[link]

Creation[link]

Bluegrass artists use a variety of stringed instruments.

Bluegrass, as a distinct musical form, developed from elements of old-time music and traditional music of the Appalachian region of the United States. The Appalachian region was where many English and Ulster-Scots immigrants settled, bringing with them the musical traditions of their homelands. Hence the sounds of jigs and reels, especially as played on the fiddle, were innate to the developing style. Black musicians infused characteristics of the blues to the mix, and in a development that was key to shaping the bluegrass sound, introduced the iconic banjo to the region.

The music now known as bluegrass was frequently used to accompany a rural dancing style known as buckdancing, flatfooting or clogging. As the bluegrass sound spread to urban areas, listening to it for its own sake increased, especially after the advent of audio recording. In 1948, what would become to be known as bluegrass emerged as a genre within the post-war country/western-music industry, a period of time characterized now as the golden era or wellspring of "traditional bluegrass." From its earliest days, bluegrass has been recorded and performed by professional and amateur musicians alike. Although amateur bluegrass musicians and trends such as "parking-lot picking" are too important to be ignored, it is touring musicians who have set the direction of the style.

Originally Bluegrass style was included in the category of folk music and later changed to hillbilly and in 1948 bluegrass was placed under the country/western heading for radio airplay charting. All four of the seminal bluegrass authors: Artis, Price, Canwell and Rosenburg described bluegrass music in detail as originating in style and form, in one form or another, between the 1930s and mid-1940s. However, the term “bluegrass” did not appear formally to describe the music until the late 1950s, and did not appear in Music Index until 1965 (Kretzschmar, 1970). The first entry in Music Index mentioning “bluegrass music” directed the reader to “see Country Music; Hillbilly Music” (Kretzschmar, 1970, p. 91). Music Index maintained this listing for bluegrass music until 1986. The first time bluegrass music had its own entries in Music Index was 1987 (Stratelak, 1988).There is no strict definition of bluegrass, although there are clear derivatives—the topical and narrative themes of many bluegrass songs are highly reminiscent of folk music. In fact, many songs that are widely considered to be bluegrass are in reality older works legitimately classified as folk or old-time music that are performed in the bluegrass style. Hence the interplay between bluegrass and folk forms has been academically studied. Folklorist Dr. Neil Rosenberg, for example, shows that most devoted bluegrass fans and musicians are familiar with traditional folk songs and old-time music, and that these songs are often played at shows, festivals and jams.

Origin of name[link]

Exactly when the word bluegrass itself was adopted to label this form is not certain, but is believed to be in the late 1950s,^[12] and was derived from the name of the seminal Blue Grass Boys band, formed in 1939 with Bill Monroe as its leader. Due to this lineage, Bill Monroe is frequently referred to as the "father of bluegrass",^[13] although his style drew upon the country, gospel, and blues music with which he had grown up.

Monroe's 1946 to 1948 band, which featured banjo prodigy Earl Scruggs, singer-guitarist Lester Flatt, fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts (also known as "Cedric Rainwater")—sometimes called "the original bluegrass band"—created the definitive sound and instrumental configuration that remains a model to this day. By some arguments, while the Blue Grass Boys were the only band playing this music, it was just their unique sound; it could not be considered a musical style until other bands began performing in similar fashion. In 1948, the Stanley Brothers recorded the traditional song "Molly and Tenbrooks" in the Blue Grass Boys' style, arguably the point in time that bluegrass emerged as a distinct musical form.^[14] As Ralph Stanley himself said about the origins of the genre and its name:

Ralph Stanley on April 20, 2008 at The Granada Theater in Dallas

"Oh, (Monroe) was the first. But it wasn't called bluegrass back then. It was just called old time mountain hillbilly music. When they started doing the bluegrass festivals in 1965, everybody got together and wanted to know what to call the show, y'know. It was decided that since Bill was the oldest man, and was from the Bluegrass state of Kentucky and he had the Blue Grass Boys, it would be called 'bluegrass.'"^[15]

The Oxford Companion to Music suggests an etymology related to the "Blue Mountains [sic] of Virginia."^[16]

First generation[link]

First generation bluegrass musicians dominated the genre from its beginnings in the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s. This group generally consists of those who were playing during the "Golden Age" in the 1950s, including Wade Mainer and his Mountaineers, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, the Stanley Brothers, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs with the Foggy Mountain Boys, Hylo Brown and The Timberliners, Ervin T. Rouse, who wrote the standard "Orange Blossom Special", Reno and Smiley, the Sauceman Brothers, Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Jim & Jesse, Jimmy Martin and the Osborne Brothers, Red Allen (who also recorded with the Osborne Brothers for MGM in the mid-fifties), Mac Wiseman, Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers, Carl Story and his Rambling Mountaineers, Buzz Busby, The Lilly Brothers, Bill Clifton and Jim Eanes.

Second generation[link]

A second generation of Bluegrass musicians began performing, composing and recording in the mid- to late-1960s, although many had played in first generation bands from a young age. Some Bluegrass musicians in this group are Doc Watson, J. D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, John Hartford, Jerry Douglas, Norman Blake, Frank Wakefield, Bill Keith, Del McCoury and Tony Rice. As they refined their craft, the New Grass Revival, Seldom Scene, The Kentucky Colonels, and The Dillards developed progressive bluegrass. In one collaboration, first-generation bluegrass fiddler Vassar Clements, progressive mandolin player David Grisman, Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia (on banjo), and Peter Rowan on lead vocals played in the band called Old and in the Way. Garcia, Chris Hillman, the Stanley Brothers Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band and others in the 1960s and 1970s helped introduce rock music listeners to progressive and traditional bluegrass. Bush, Grisman, and Clements developed strong jazz elements in most of their playing – Clements liked to refer to his music as "hillbilly jazz" – but each owes much to traditional bluegrass.

Third generation[link]

Third generation Bluegrass developed in the mid-1980s. Bluegrass grew, matured and broadened from the music played in previous years. This generation redefined "mainstream bluegrass." High-quality sound equipment allowed each band member to be miked independently, exemplified by Tony Rice Unit and The Bluegrass Album Band. Tony Rice showcased elaborate lead guitar solos, and other bands followed. The electric bass became a general, but not universal, alternative to the traditional acoustic bass, though electrification of other instruments continued to meet resistance outside progressive circles. Nontraditional chord progressions also became more widely accepted. On the other hand, this generation saw a renaissance of more traditional songs, played in the newer style. The Johnson Mountain Boys were one of the decade's most popular touring groups, and played strictly traditional bluegrass.

Sweet By and By, all-female bluegrass band – July 4, 2007

Recent developments[link]

In recent decades bluegrass music has reached a broader audience. Major mainstream country music performers have recorded bluegrass albums, including Dolly Parton and Patty Loveless, who each released several bluegrass albums. Since the late 1990s, Ricky Skaggs, who began as a bluegrass musician and crossed over to mainstream country in the 1980s, returned to bluegrass with his band Kentucky Thunder. The Coen Brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) has a country and bluegrass soundtrack which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002. The documentary and concert film Down from the Mountain (2000) featured a live performance by the music artists who participated in the recording of the soundtrack recording.

Meanwhile, festivals like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky-Grass in Lyons, Colorado and the Nederland, Colorado based Yonder Mountain String Band in the United States, and Druhá Tráva in the Czech Republic attract large audiences while expanding the range of progressive bluegrass in the college-jam band atmospheres, often called "jamgrass." Bluegrass fused with jazz in the music of Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Doc Watson, and others.

Sub-genres[link]

There are three major subgenres of bluegrass and one unofficial subgenre.

Traditional bluegrass[link]

Multiple Grammy Award-winning bluegrass singer and fiddler Alison Krauss.

Traditional bluegrass emphasizes the traditional elements; musicians play folk songs, tunes with simple traditional chord progressions, and use only acoustic instruments. Generally, compositions are performed on instruments that were played by Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys in the late 1940s. In the early years, instruments no longer accepted in mainstream bluegrass, such as the accordion, were used. Traditional bands may use their instruments in slightly different ways; for example playing the banjo by the claw-hammer style, or using multiple guitars or fiddles in a band. In this subgenre, the guitar rarely leads but acts as a rhythm instrument, one notable exception being gospel-based songs. Melodies and lyrics tend to be simple, often in the key of G, and a I-IV-V chord pattern is common. Although traditional bluegrass performers eschew electrically amplified instruments, as used in other forms of popular music, it is common practice to "mike" acoustic instruments during stage performances before larger audiences.

Traditional bluegrass bands Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Del McCoury, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass enjoy nationwide popularity. California mountain bluegrass, a variation on traditional, has enjoyed regional popularity with such bands as Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack.

Progressive bluegrass[link]

Another major subgenre is progressive bluegrass. Groups use electric instruments and import songs from other genres, particularly rock & roll. Although a more recent phenomenon, progressive bluegrass has roots going back to one of the earliest bluegrass bands. The banjo and bass duets Earl Scruggs played even in the earliest days of the Foggy Mountain Boys hint at the wild chord progressions to come. The four key distinguishing elements (not always all present) of progressive bluegrass are instrumentation (frequently including electric instruments, drums, piano, and more), songs imported (or styles imitated) from other genres, chord progressions, and lengthy "jam band"-style improvisation. The String Cheese Incident is one band that sometimes mixes a bluegrass tune with a jam band feeling, especially in original tunes like "Dudley's Kitchen". A twist on this genre is combining elements that preceded bluegrass, such as old-time string band music, with bluegrass music.

Bluegrass Gospel[link]

"Bluegrass gospel" has emerged as a third subgenre. Many bluegrass artists incorporate gospel music into their repertoire. Distinctive elements of this style include Christian lyrics, soulful three- or four-part harmony singing, and sometimes playing instrumentals subdue.^{[citation needed]} A cappella choruses are popular with bluegrass gospel artists, though the harmony structure differs somewhat from standard barbershop or choir singing.^{[citation needed]} Mainstream bluegrass artists Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and IIIrd Tyme Out have produced bluegrass gospel music. While The Issacs, Mount Zion and The Churchmen play Bluegrass Gospel exclusively.

Neo-Traditional bluegrass[link]

A newer development in the bluegrass world is Neo-Traditional Bluegrass. In the 1990s, most bluegrass bands were headed by a solo artist such as Doyle Lawson and Rhonda Vincent, with an accompanying band.^{[citation needed]} Bands playing this subgenre include The Grascals, Mountain Heart, The Infamous Stringdusters, Steep Canyon Rangers, Pert Near Sandstone, Cadillac Sky, Waterfall Blue Boys, and Cherryholmes who all have more than one lead singer.

"New" grass[link]

Recent developments in the Punk scene have led some musicians to incorporate the traditional sounds of folk and bluegrass with punk rock attitudes and messages. Old Man Markley, a band out of Los Angeles, CA, has been building a fanbase which directly links the cultures of both Bluegrass and Punk. Of other notable examples, Cactus Attack hailing from Massachusetts blends punk rock attitudes, bluegrass and folk with tough melodies and lyrics reminiscent of lyrics of old.

Academic study of bluegrass[link]

East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee is the only university in the world with a comprehensive program of bluegrass, in its Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music program.^[17] An academic major and minor are both offered. The program is both academic and performance-oriented.^[17]

Social and musical impact[link]

In movies[link]

• O Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Cold Mountain
• King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin
• That High Lonesome Sound
• High Lonesome: the Story of Bluegrass Music (documentary)
• The Ralph Stanley Story (documentary)
• Bill Monroe: the Father of Bluegrass (documentary)
• Deliverance
• Matewan
• Harlan County, USA
• Bonnie and Clyde
• Bluegrass Journey (documentary)
• Ralph Stanley: Reunion

Publications[link]

• Bluegrass Unlimited
• British Bluegrass News
• Cybergrass

Opera and theater[link]

• The Original Bluegrass Opera of Detroit
• RedHead Express Bluegrass Show at Circle B Theatre, Branson, Missouri

Museums[link]

• International Bluegrass Music Museum Owensboro, Kentucky
• Bill Monroe Museum Rosine, Kentucky
• Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Country Star Museum Bean Blossom, Indiana
• Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center Clintwood, Virginia
• The Bluegrass Bus Museum Nashville, Tennessee

Historical Music Trail[link]

• The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail Southwest Virginia
• Shenandoah Music Trail Shenandoah Valley Virginia

See also[link]

• G run
• Bluegrass fiddle

References[link]

• Artis, B. (1975). Bluegrass. NY: Hawthorne Books, Inc.
• Cantwell, R. (1996). When we were good: The folk revival. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Cantwell, R. (1984). Bluegrass breakdown: The making of the old southern sound. Chicago: University Illinois Press.
• Kingsbury, Paul (2004). The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517608-1.
• Price, S. D. (1975). Old as the hills: The story of bluegrass music. NY: The Viking Press.
• Rosenberg, Neil (1985). Bluegrass: A History. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-00265-2.
• van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
• Trischka, Tony, Wernick, Pete, (1988) Masters of the 5-String Banjo, Oak Publications. ISBN 0-8256-0298-X.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park archival recordings
• Bluegrass at the Open Directory Project
• Powergrass

v t e Bluegrass music Typical instruments Acoustic guitar · Banjo · Dobro · Fiddle · Mandolin · Upright bass Stylistic origins Blues · Country music · Folk music · Old-time music Sub- and fusion genres Traditional bluegrass · Progressive bluegrass · Bluegrass gospel · Czech bluegrass Notable festivals Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival · California Bluegrass Association Father's Day Bluegrass Festival · Delfest · Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival · High Sierra Music Festival · Kentucky Festival of the Bluegrass · Merlefest · San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival · South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival · River City Bluegrass Festival · Rockygrass · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · Wintergrass Other International Bluegrass Music Museum · International Bluegrass Music Association · International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame · Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America · Bluegrass Unlimited Category · Portal

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Sweet Baby (originally known as Sweet Baby Jesus) was a pop punk band that originated from Berkeley, California, and was part of the 924 Gilman Street scene. They were signed to Ruby Records.

Formed in 1986 by singer Dallas Denery and singer/guitarist Matt Buenrostro with Crispy Jim (later of The Saddlebacks) on bass and Dr. Frank (the frontman of The Mr. T Experience) on drums. Frank and Crispy Jim did not appear on any Sweet Baby recordings, having been already replaced by Sergie Loobkoff (Samiam, Knapsack) and Richie Bucher (Jüke, Wynona Ryders), respectively. Aaron Elliott aka Aaron Cometbus also played drums for them on their 1989 US tour. They had two songs on the Maximum Rock and Roll compilation Turn it Around (1988), "She's from Salinas" and "Pathetic." In 1989, they released their only lp, It's A Girl on Ruby Records (a Slash/Warner subsidiary). Lookout Records re-released it in 1995.'

In January 2005, their song, "Baby Baby Baby Baby Baby Baby Baby, I Love You" was featured on Bravo in an advertisement for the show Queer Eye for the Straight Girl.

In 1989 due to Sweet Baby, Green Day changed their name from Sweet Children to Green Day for there to be no confusion before releasing their first EP 1,000 Hours.

Band members[link]

• Dallas Denery is currently an assistant professor at Bowdoin College in the History Department and regularly broadcasts a radio show for WBOR 91.1 called "Dick and Jane's Cocktail Hour" with his wife and son "Spot." They generally play a "happy hour" of lounge music starting at 5:00pm and then an hour of independent rock on various weekdays.

External links[link]

• Dallas Denery's homepage at Bowdoin College
• Trouser Press's Sweet Baby Bio
• A Dallas Denery Fan Bio and Interview
• Larry Livermore on the Denery Brothers
• Dallas Denery interview on Bowdoin Cable News

William Smith Monroe (September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. He is often referred to as The Father of Bluegrass.^[1]

Early life[link]

Monroe was born on his family's farm near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver, were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home. Bill was of Scottish heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and Charlie already played the fiddle and guitar, Bill Monroe was resigned to playing the less desirable mandolin. He recalled that his brothers insisted he remove four of the mandolin's eight strings so he would not play too loudly.

Monroe's mother died when he was ten, followed by his father six years later. As his brothers and sisters had moved away, after bouncing among uncles and aunts, Monroe settled in with his disabled uncle Pendleton Vandiver, often accompanying him when Vandiver played the fiddle at dances. This experience inspired one of Monroe's most famous compositions, "Uncle Pen," recorded in 1950, and the 1972 album, "Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen." On that album, Monroe recorded a number of traditional fiddle tunes he had often heard performed by Vandiver. Uncle Pen has been credited with giving Monroe "a repertoire of tunes that sank into Bill's aurally trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones."^[2] Also significant in Monroe's musical life was Arnold Shultz, an influential fiddler and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the blues.^[3][4]

Professional career[link]

In 1929, Monroe moved to Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch, Charlie, and childhood friend and guitarist William "Old Hickory" Hardin. Together with a friend Larry Moore, they formed a musical group, the Monroe Brothers, to play at local dances and house parties. Birch Monroe and Larry Moore soon left the group, and Bill and Charlie carried on as a duo, eventually winning spots performing live on radio stations— first in Indiana and then, sponsored by Texas Crystals, on several radio broadcasts in Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and North Carolina 1934 to 1936. RCA Victor signed the Monroe Brothers to a recording contract in 1936. They scored an immediate hit single with the gospel song "What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul?" and ultimately recorded 60 tracks for Victor's Bluebird label between 1936 and 1938.

After the Monroe Brothers disbanded in 1938, Bill Monroe formed The Kentuckians in Little Rock, Arkansas, but the group only lasted for three months. Monroe then left Little Rock for Atlanta, Georgia, to form the first edition of the Blue Grass Boys with singer/guitarist Cleo Davis, fiddler Art Wooten, and bassist Amos Garren. Bill had wanted "Old Hickory" to become one of the original members of his "Blue Grass Boys", however William Hardin had to decline. In October 1939, he successfully auditioned for a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry, impressing Opry founder George D. Hay with his energetic performance of Jimmie Rodgers's "Mule Skinner Blues". Monroe recorded that song, along with seven others, at his first solo recording session for RCA Victor in 1940; by this time, the Blue Grass Boys consisted of singer/guitarist Clyde Moody, fiddler Tommy Magness, and bassist Bill Wesbrooks.^[5]

While the fast tempos and instrumental virtuosity characteristic of bluegrass music are apparent even on these early tracks, Monroe was still experimenting with the sound of his group. He seldom sang lead vocals on his Victor recordings, often preferring to contribute high tenor harmonies as he had in the Monroe Brothers. A 1945 session for Columbia Records featured an accordion, soon dropped from the band. Most importantly, while Monroe added banjo player David "'Stringbean" Akeman to the Blue Grass Boys in 1942, Akeman played the instrument in a relatively primitive style and was rarely featured in instrumental solos. Monroe's pre-1946 recordings represent a transitional style between the string-band tradition from which he came and the musical innovation to follow.

The "Original Bluegrass Band" and Monroe's heyday as a star[link]

A key development occurred in Monroe's music with the addition of North Carolina banjo prodigy Earl Scruggs to the Blue Grass Boys in December 1945. Scruggs played the instrument with a distinctive three-finger picking style that immediately caused a sensation among Opry audiences. Scruggs joined a highly accomplished group that included singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, and would soon include fiddler Chubby Wise, and bassist Howard Watts, who often performed under the name "Cedric Rainwater." In retrospect, this lineup of the Blue Grass Boys has been dubbed the "Original Bluegrass Band," as Monroe's music finally included all the elements that characterize the genre, including breakneck tempos, sophisticated vocal harmony arrangements, and impressive instrumental proficiency demonstrated in solos or "breaks" on the mandolin, banjo, and fiddle. By this point, Monroe had acquired the 1923 Gibson F5 model "Lloyd Loar" mandolin which became his trademark instrument for the remainder of his career.^[6]

The 28 songs recorded by this version of the Blue Grass Boys for Columbia Records in 1946 and 1947 soon became classics of the genre, including "Toy Heart," "Blue Grass Breakdown," "Molly and Tenbrooks", "Wicked Path of Sin," "My Rose of Old Kentucky," "Little Cabin Home on the Hill," and Monroe's most famous song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky". The last-named was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954, appearing as the B-side of his first single for Sun Records. Monroe gave his blessing to Presley's rock-and-roll cover of the song, originally a slow ballad in waltz time, and in fact re-recorded it himself with a faster arrangement after Presley's version became a hit. Several gospel-themed numbers are credited to the "Blue Grass Quartet," which featured four-part vocal arrangements accompanied solely by mandolin and guitar — Monroe's usual practice when performing "sacred" songs.

Both Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe's band in early 1948, soon forming their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys, which met with notable commercial success in the 1950s and 1960s with such hits as "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", "Cabin on the Hill," and "The Ballad of Jed Clampett". In 1949, after signing with Decca Records, Monroe quickly regrouped, entering the "golden age" of his career^[7] with what many consider the classic "high lonesome" version of the Blue Grass Boys, featuring the lead vocals and rhythm guitar of Jimmy Martin, the banjo of Rudy Lyle (replacing Don Reno), and fiddlers such as Merle "Red" Taylor, Charlie Cline, Bobby Hicks and Vassar Clements. This band recorded a number of bluegrass classics, including "My Little Georgia Rose," "On and On," "Memories of Mother and Dad," and "Uncle Pen," as well as instrumentals such as "Roanoke", "Big Mon", "Stoney Lonesone", "Get Up John" and the mandolin feature "Raw Hide." Carter Stanley joined the Blue Grass Boys as guitarist for a short time in 1951 during a period when the Stanley Brothers had temporarily disbanded.

On January 16, 1953 Monroe was critically injured in a two-car wreck. He and "Bluegrass Boys" bass player, Bessie Lee Mauldin, were returning home from a fox hunt north of Nashville. On highway 31-W, near White House, their car was struck by a drunken driver. Monroe, who had suffered injuries to his back, left arm and nose, was rushed to General Hospital in Nashville. It took him almost four months to recover and resume touring. In the meantime Charlie Cline and Jimmy Martin kept the band together.^[8]

By the late 1950s, however, Monroe's commercial fortunes had begun to slip. The rise of rock-and-roll and the development of the "Nashville sound" in mainstream country music both represented threats to the viability of bluegrass. While still a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, Monroe found diminishing success on the singles charts, and struggled to keep his band together in the face of declining demand for live performances.

The folk revival[link]

Monroe's fortunes began to improve during the "folk revival" of the early 1960s. Many college students and other young people were beginning to discover Monroe, associating his style more with traditional folk music than with the country-and-western genre with which it had previously been identified. The word "bluegrass" first appeared around this time to describe the sound of Monroe and similar artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley, Jim and Jesse, and the Osborne Brothers. While Flatt and Scruggs immediately recognized the potential for a lucrative new audience in cities and on college campuses in the North, Monroe was slower to respond. Under the influence of Ralph Rinzler, a young musician and folklorist from New Jersey who briefly became Monroe's manager in 1963, Monroe gradually expanded his geographic reach beyond the traditional southern country music circuit. Rinzler was also responsible for a lengthy profile and interview in the influential folk music magazine Sing Out! that first publicly referred to Monroe as the "father" of bluegrass. Accordingly, at the first bluegrass festival organized by Carlton Haney at Roanoke, Virginia in 1965, Bill Monroe was the central figure.

The growing national popularity of Monroe's music during the 1960s was also apparent in the increasingly diverse background of musicians recruited into his band. Non-southerners who served as Blue Grass Boys during this period included banjo player Bill Keith and singer/guitarist Peter Rowan from Massachusetts, fiddler Gene Lowinger from New York, banjo player Lamar Grier from Maryland, banjo player Steve Arkin from New York, and singer/guitarist Roland White and fiddler Richard Greene from California.

Later years[link]

Even after the folk revival faded in the mid-1960s, it left a loyal audience for bluegrass music. Bluegrass festivals became common, with fans often traveling long distances to see a number of different acts over several days of performances.

In 1967 Monroe himself founded an annual bluegrass festival at Bean Blossom in southern Indiana, a park he had purchased in 1951, which routinely attracted a crowd of thousands; a double LP from the festival featuring Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, and Jim and Jesse was released in 1973. The annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is now the world's oldest continuously running annual bluegrass festival.^[9]

Monroe's compositions during his later period were largely instrumentals, including "Jerusalem Ridge", "Old Dangerfield"(stylized as Old Daingerfield), and "My Last Days on Earth"; he settled into a new role as a musical patriarch who continued to influence younger generations of musicians. Monroe recorded two albums of duets in the 1980s; the first featured collaborations with country stars such as Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, and the Oak Ridge Boys, while the second paired him with other prominent bluegrass musicians. A 1989 live album celebrated his 50th year on the Grand Ole Opry. Monroe also kept a hectic touring schedule. On April 7, 1990, Monroe performed for Farm Aid IV in Indianapolis, Indiana along with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and with many other artists.

Death[link]

Monroe suffered a stroke in April 1996, effectively ending his touring and playing career. He died on September 9, 1996, only four days before his 85th birthday.

Awards and legacy[link]

Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky colonel in 1966.^[8] He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three. As the "father of bluegrass," he was also an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. In 1993, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. His well-known song "Blue Moon of Kentucky" has been covered not only by bluegrass but also rock and country artists, most notably Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and Patsy Cline. In 2003, CMT had Bill Monroe ranked #16 on CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Artists that claimed to be influenced by or to be playing the bluegrass genre were often bullied by Bill Monroe. He always considered himself the father and caretaker of bluegrass. He would often say of new bands that did not perform to his standards, "That ain't no part of nothin'." Even those who question the scope of bluegrass refer to Monroe as a "musical giant" and recognize that "there would be no bluegrass without Bill Monroe."^[10]

Artists influenced by Monroe[link]

More than 150 musicians played in the Blue Grass Boys over the nearly 60 years of Monroe's performing career. Monroe tended to recruit promising young musicians who served an apprenticeship with him before becoming accomplished artists in their own right. Some of Monroe's band members who went on to greater prominence include singer/guitarists Clyde Moody, Lester Flatt, Jack Cook, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin, Carter Stanley, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Roland White, Roland Dunn and Doug Green; banjo players Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Keith; and fiddlers Tommy Magness, Chubby Wise, Vassar Clements, Byron Berline, Kenny Baker, Bobby Hicks, Gordon Terry, and Glen Duncan. Monroe also regularly performed with flat-picking guitar virtuoso Doc Watson.

Modern bluegrass singer and mandolin player Ricky Skaggs was influenced by Monroe. Skaggs was only six years old when he first got to perform on stage with Monroe and his band. He stated, "I think Bill Monroe's importance to American music is as important as someone like Robert Johnson was to blues, or Louis Armstrong. He was so influential: I think he's probably the only musician that had a whole style of music named after his band".^[11]

Pseudonyms used by Monroe as a composer[link]

Joe Ahr; Rupert Jones; Wilbur Jones; Albert Price; James B. Smith; James W. Smith

Discography[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Rumble, John (1998). "Bill Monroe". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 350–2.
• Smith, Richard D. (2000). Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-80381-2.
• Rosenberg, Neil V., and Charles K. Wolfe (2007). The Music of Bill Monroe. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-03121-0.

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Bill Monroe at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Country Music Hall of Fame profile
• International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor profile
• Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame profile
• Recording of "Wayfaring Stranger" from the 1993 Florida Folk Festival (available for public use from the State Archives of Florida)
• "Bill Monroe". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2508. Retrieved August 11, 2010. 
• Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music (documentary video)

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