Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music, was born 103 years ago today. Monroe created bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, named for Monroes home state of Kentucky. His performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. Monroe was born on his familys 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. 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 should remove four of the mandolins eight strings so he would not play too loudly. Monroes 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 Monroes most famous compositions, Uncle Pen, recorded in 1950, and the 1972 album, Bill Monroes 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 Bills aurally trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones. Also significant in Monroes musical life was Arnold Shultz, an influential fiddler and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the blues. 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 Victors 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 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 Rodgerss 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. 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. A key development occurred in Monroes 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 Monroes 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. 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 Monroes 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 Presleys 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 Presleys version became a hit. In 1949, after signing with Decca Records, Monroe quickly regrouped after Flatt and Scruggs left, entering the golden age of his career 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. More than 150 musicians played in the Blue Grass Boys over the nearly 60 years of Monroes 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 Monroes 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. 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. Here, Monroe performs “Blue Moon of Kentucky” at Farm Aid in 1990.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 10:47:27 +0000
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