Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe is called the father of bluegrass, and the whole genre is named after his band, the Blue Grass Boys. His driving mandolin and high, lonesome tenor set the pattern that bluegrass bands still follow.

Life

Monroe grew up on a farm near Rosine, Kentucky. In 1929 he moved to Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch and Charlie, and the brothers began performing as the Monroe Brothers. RCA Victor signed them in 1936, and they recorded 60 sides for Bluebird before splitting in 1938.

Monroe then formed the Blue Grass Boys, named after his home state, the Bluegrass State. He auditioned for the Grand Ole Opry in October 1939 and was given a regular spot. In December 1945 banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt joined, and the line-up of 1945–1948 is often called the original bluegrass band. Many later stars passed through the Blue Grass Boys, among them Carter Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Del McCoury, Vassar Clements and Peter Rowan.

He signed to Decca in 1949, founded the Bean Blossom festival in Indiana in 1967, and gave his last performance in March 1996, six months before his death.

Honours

Monroe entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and was the first inductee of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. He received a National Heritage Fellowship (1982), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1993) and the National Medal of Arts (1995), and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence in 1997.

Songs to know

• "Blue Moon of Kentucky", covered by Elvis Presley on Sun Records in 1954
• "Uncle Pen", recorded 1950
• "Molly and Tenbrooks", "Blue Grass Breakdown", "Toy Heart" and "Jerusalem Ridge"

Key recordings

Pick up his instrument with our mandolin guide, or meet another bluegrass pioneer, Ralph Stanley.