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Bill Monroe
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Bill Monroe was born in 1911 on a farm near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children. Because his older brothers already played fiddle and guitar, the mandolin was what was left for him. After the death of his parents he lived with his uncle Pen Vandiver, a fiddler who played at dances. Bill accompanied him and in this way learned the old fiddle tunes. From the Black musician Arnold Shultz he got to know the blues.
Music and breakthrough
In the 1930s he played with his brother Charlie as the Monroe Brothers on radio and on records. In 1939 he founded the Blue Grass Boys in Atlanta, named after the bluegrass of Kentucky. That same year he won a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry. When the guitarist Lester Flatt and the banjo player Earl Scruggs joined at the end of 1945, the sound was complete. Breakneck tempos, high harmony singing and virtuoso solos on mandolin, banjo and fiddle: that was what bluegrass sounded like. In 1946 and 1947 the band recorded classics, including Blue Moon of Kentucky.
Influence
Monroe described his music as a mixture of Scottish bagpipes, old-time fiddle music, church music, blues and jazz, with a high and lonesome sound. The genre took its name from his band, and he was called the father of bluegrass. In 1954 Elvis Presley recorded Blue Moon of Kentucky as a fast rock 'n' roll version, and Monroe gave it his blessing. In this way he stands at the roots of both country and rock 'n' roll.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1963Bill & Doc Sing Country Songs
- 1967Blue Grass Time
- 1972Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen
- 1973Father & Son
- 1974Road of Life
- 1976The Weary Traveler
- 1977Bluegrass Memories
- 1978Together Again
- 1981Master of Bluegrass
- 1984Bill Monroe & Friends
- 1985Bill Monroe and Stars of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame
- 1999Blue Grass Special Memories
In School of Rock
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- Mixtape 1: The Origins of Pop MusicNL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Bluegrass Genre
From the 1940s a fast, acoustic variant emerged in country: bluegrass, named after the band of the mandolin player Bill Monroe from Kentucky, the Blue Grass Boys.