BLUEGRASS MUSIC HISTORY
The street balladry of the people who began migrating to America in the early 1600s is considered to be the roots of traditional American music. As the early Jamestown settlers began to spread out into the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Virginias, they composed new songs about day-to-day life experiences in the new land. Since most of these people lived in rural areas, the songs reflected life on the farm or in the hills and this type of music was called "mountain music" or "country music."
The
invention of the phonograph and the onset of the radio in the early 1900s
brought this old-time music out of the rural Southern mountains to people all
over the United States. Good singing became a more important part of country
music. Singing stars like Jimmie Rodgers, family bands like the Carter family
from Virginia and duet teams like the Monroe Brothers from Kentucky contributed
greatly to the advancement of traditional country music.
The Monroe Brothers were one of the most popular duet teams of the 1920s and
into the 1930s. Charlie played the guitar, Bill played the mandolin and they
sang duets in harmony. When the brothers split up as a team in 1938, both went
on to form their own bands. Since Bill was a native of Kentucky, the Bluegrass
State, he decided to call his band "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass
Boys," and this band sound birthed a new form of country music.
"Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys" first appeared on the Grand Ole
Opry in 1939 and soon became one of the most popular touring bands out of
Nashville's WSM studios. Bill's new band was different from other traditional
country music bands of the time because of its hard driving and powerful sound,
utilizing traditional acoustic instruments and featuring highly distinctive
vocal harmonies. This music incorporated songs and rhythms from string band,
gospel (black and white), work songs and "shouts" of black laborers,
country and blues music repertoires. Vocal selections included duet, trio and
quartet harmony singing in addition to Bill's powerful "high
lonesome" solo lead singing. After experimenting with various instrumental
combinations, Bill settled on mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass as the
format for his band.
While many fans of bluegrass music date the genre back to 1939, when Monroe
formed his first Blue Grass Boys band, most believe that the classic bluegrass
sound jelled in 1946, shortly after Earl Scruggs, a 21 year old banjo player
from North Carolina, joined the band. Scruggs played an innovative 3-Finger
picking style on the banjo that energized enthusiastic audiences, and has since
come to be called simply, "Scruggs style" banjo. Equally influential
in the classic 1946 line-up of the Blue Grass Boys were Lester Flatt, from
Sparta, Tenn. on guitar and lead vocals against Monroe's tenor; Chubby Wise,
from Florida, on fiddle; and Howard Watts, also known by his comedian name,
"Cedric Rainwater," on acoustic bass.
Earl Scruggs Foggy Mountain Boys recording FMB, 1949
Sims, Scruggs, Seckler, Flatt, Rainwater
When
first Earl Scruggs, and then Lester Flatt left Monroe's band and eventually
formed their own group, The Foggy Mountain Boys, they decided to include the
resophonic guitar, or Dobro into their band format. The Dobro is often included
in bluegrass band formats today as a result. Burkett H. "Uncle Josh"
Graves, from Tellico Plains, Tenn., heard Scruggs' 3-Finger style of picking in
1949 and adapted it to the then, almost obscure slide bar instrument. With
Flatt & Scruggs from 1955-1969, Graves introduced his widely emulated,
driving, bluesy style on the Dobro.
From 1948-1969, Flatt & Scruggs were a major force in introducing bluegrass
music to America through national television, at major universities and
coliseums, and at schoolhouse appearances in numerous towns. Scruggs wrote and
recorded one of bluegrass music's most famous instrumentals, "Foggy
Mountain Breakdown," which was used in the soundtrack for the film, Bonnie & Clyde. In 1969 he
established an innovative solo career with his three sons as "The Earl
Scruggs Revue." Scruggs still records and performs selected dates in
groups that usually include his son, Randy on guitar, and his son, Gary on
bass.
After parting with Scruggs in 1969, Lester Flatt continued successfully with
his own group, "The Nashville Grass," performing steadily until
shortly before his death in 1979.
By the 1950s, people began referring to this style of music as "bluegrass
music." Bluegrass bands began forming all over the country and Bill Monroe
became the acknowledged "Father of Bluegrass Music."
In the 1960s, the concept of the "bluegrass festival" was first
introduced, featuring bands that had seemed to be in competition with each
other for a relatively limited audience on the same bill at weekend festivals
across the country. Carlton Haney, from Reidsville, N.C., is credited with
envisioning and producing the first weekend-long bluegrass music festival, held
at Fincastle, Va. in 1965.
The increased availability of traditional music recordings, nationwide indoor
and outdoor bluegrass festivals and movie, television and commercial
soundtracks featuring bluegrass music have aided in bringing this music out of
modern day obscurity. "Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs & the Foggy
Mountain Boys" achieved national prominence with tour sponsorship by
Martha White Flour and for playing the soundtrack for previously mentioned film,
Bonnie and Clyde, as well as on a
television show called The Beverly
Hillbillies. The Deliverance movie
soundtrack also featured bluegrass music-in particular, "Dueling
Banjos," performed by Eric Weissberg on banjo and Steve Mandel on guitar.
In 2001, the multi-million selling soundtrack for the Coen Brothers movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? attracted
wider audiences for bluegrass and traditional country music.
Bill Monroe passed away on September 9, 1996, four days before his 85th
birthday. In May 1997, Bill Monroe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame because of the profound influence of his music on the popular music of
this country.
Bluegrass music is now performed and enjoyed around the world--the IBMA alone
claims members in all 50 states and 30 countries. In addition to the to the
classic style born in 1946 that is still performed widely, bluegrass bands
today reflect influences from a variety of sources including traditional and
fusion jazz, contemporary country music, Celtic music, rock & roll
("newgrass" or progressive bluegrass), old-time music and Southern
gospel music--in addition to lyrics translated to various languages.
© 2002 International Bluegrass Music Association
1620 Frederica Street, Owensboro, KY 42301
www.ibma.org/about.bluegrass/history/index.asp