The Bill Monroe Reader

Known as the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe pioneered a whole genre of music and inspired generations of musicians and fans. This title gathers many articles that have been written about Monroe. It offers a view of one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century.

"Tell 'em I'm a farmer with a mandolin and a high tenor voice," Bill Monroe said. Known as the Father of Bluegrass Music, Monroe pioneered a whole new category of music and inspired generations of musicians and fans. Yet from his founding of the original bluegrass band through six decades of performing, he remained an enigmatic figure, a compelling mixture of fierce intensity, homespun modesty, and musical integrity. 

Determined to play the mandolin in a way it had never been played before, Monroe distinguished himself in the mid-1930s with the Monroe Brothers then began forming his own band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1938. By the mid-1940s other bands were copying his sound, and a new style, bluegrass music, was born. While country music moved toward electrification, Monroe maintained his acoustic ensemble and developed his "high, lonesome sound," performing nearly up to his death in 1996. 

In this eclectic, richly illustrated reader, former Blue Grass Boy Tom Ewing gathers the most significant and illuminating of the many articles that have been written about Monroe. Through the writings of nearly sixty observers, interviewers, admirers, folklorists, and other scholars, along with Ewing's astute commentary, The Bill Monroe Reader offers a multifaceted view of one of the most influential country musicians of the twentieth century. 

Lively, heartfelt, and informative, The Bill Monroe Reader is a fitting tribute to the man and the musician who transformed the traditional music of western Kentucky into an international sensation.

Contributor: Tom Ewing (Edited by), George D Hay (Contributions by), Gene Dudley (Contributions by), Harold Seligman (Contributions by), Alan Lomax (Contributions by), Ralph Rinzler (Contributions by), Mayne Smith (Contributions by), Doug Benson (Contributions by), Alice (Foster) Gerrard (Contributions by), James Monroe (Contributions by), Jack Hurst (Contributions by), Steve Rathe (Contributions by), Neil V Rosenberg (Contributions by), Charles Wolfe (Contributions by), Valary Marks (Contributions by), Martha Hume (Contributions by), Jan Otteson (Contributions by), David Grisman (Contributions by), Don Rhodes (Contributions by), Lee Rector (Contributions by), Laura (Eipper) Hill (Contributions by), Michelle H Putnam (Contributions by), Carole Ledford (Contributions by), Wayne Erbsen (Contributions by), Ray Edlund (Contributions by), Marty Godbey (Contributions by), Ronni Lundy (Contributions by), Sandy Rothman (Contributions by), Robert Cantwell (Contributions by), Doug Hutchens (Contributions by), Richard D Smith (Contributions by), Roger Siminoff (Contributions by), Charmaine Lanham (Contributions by), Roger Wolmuth (Contributions by), Jim Hatlo (Contributions by), George Gruhn (Contributions by), Thomas Goldsmith (Contributions by), Charlie Appleton (Contributions by), Catherine Thompson (Contributions by), Richard K. Spottswood (Contributions by), Jason DeParle (Contributions by), Jack Flippin (Contributions by), Jay Orr (Contributions by), Michael Gray (Contributions by), John Commins (Contributions by), Robert Ashley Logue (Contributions by), David McBride (Contributions by), Marye Yeomans (Contributions by), Malcolm Jones Jr (Contributions by), John Hartford (Contributions by), Hazel Smith (Contributions by), Tom Wolf (Contributions by), Jim Peva (Contributions by), Joel M Vance (Contributions by), James Nold Jr (Contributions by), Jennie T McHenry (Contributions by)

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