Chapter 10: Bluegrass
Chapter 10 examines the development of bluegrass from Appalachian folk traditions, gospel music, and Southern string-band music. Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, and other musicians established the genre's fast tempos, close vocal harmonies, and instrumental virtuosity, while the folk revival of the 1960s introduced bluegrass to a broader national audience.
Important Terms
Bluegrass – An acoustic subgenre of country music built around fast tempos, close vocal harmonies, and instrumental solos.
High Lonesome Sound – A vocal style featuring a high, nasal tone commonly associated with bluegrass singing.
Appalachian Music – Folk music from the Appalachian Mountains that supplied many of bluegrass's melodies, instruments, and performance traditions.
String Band – An ensemble built primarily around stringed instruments such as fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass.
Narrative Ballad – A song that tells a story, often passed through oral tradition.
Reel – A fast dance tune of Scottish and Irish origin commonly played on the fiddle.
Jig – A lively folk dance and tune usually performed in compound meter.
Waltz – A dance and musical style written in triple meter.
Round Dance – A social dance performed by couples moving in circular patterns.
Banjo – A stringed instrument derived from West African instruments that became central to bluegrass.
Akonting – A West African three-stringed lute considered one of the banjo's ancestors.
Drone String – A string that repeatedly sounds the same pitch to provide a constant tonal foundation.
Clawhammer Style – A banjo technique using downward strokes with the fingernail and thumb.
Frailing – Another name for the clawhammer banjo technique.
Thumping – A traditional banjo style emphasizing rhythmic thumb playing.
National Barn Dance – A Chicago radio program that helped introduce rural string-band music to national audiences.
Grand Ole Opry – Nashville radio program that became country music's longest-running live broadcast.
Mandolin – A small eight-string instrument played with a pick and known for its bright, percussive sound.
Bluegrass Breakdown – A fast instrumental piece featuring alternating solos and technical virtuosity.
Three-Finger Picking (Scruggs Style) – Earl Scruggs's banjo technique using the thumb, index, and middle fingers to produce rapid rolling patterns.
Scruggs Tuners – Specialized banjo tuning pegs that allow notes to be bent while playing.
G-Run – A short guitar phrase ending on a G major chord that became common in bluegrass.
Bluegrass Revival – The renewed popularity of bluegrass during the 1950s and 1960s through folk festivals, colleges, and recordings.
Artists Discussed
Bill Monroe – Known as the "Father of Bluegrass"; founder of the Blue Grass Boys and creator of the bluegrass style.
Blue Grass Boys – Bill Monroe's band that gave bluegrass its name.
Lester Flatt – Guitarist and lead singer whose rhythm playing became a standard in bluegrass.
Earl Scruggs – Banjo player who developed the three-finger picking style that became standard in bluegrass.
Birch Monroe – Bill Monroe's brother and early musical partner.
Charlie Monroe – Bill Monroe's brother and member of the Monroe Brothers.
Robert "Chubby" Wise – Fiddler in Bill Monroe's classic bluegrass lineup.
Cedric Rainwater (Howard Watts) – Bassist who performed with Bill Monroe and later Flatt and Scruggs.
Earl Scruggs – Pioneer of the three-finger banjo style and co-founder of the Foggy Mountain Boys.
Flatt and Scruggs – Bluegrass duo that helped popularize the genre nationwide.
Foggy Mountain Boys – Band formed by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs after leaving Bill Monroe.
Jim Shumate – Fiddler with the Foggy Mountain Boys.
Mac Wiseman – Guitarist and singer with the Foggy Mountain Boys.
Ralph Stanley – Banjo player and singer who co-founded the Stanley Brothers and later led the Clinch Mountain Boys.
Carter Stanley – Guitarist and singer who co-founded the Stanley Brothers.
The Stanley Brothers – Bluegrass duo known for preserving Monroe's style while developing their own sound.
DeFord Bailey – African American harmonica player and early Grand Ole Opry star who referred to Black hillbilly music.
Songs Referenced
"Skillet Licker Breakdown" – Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers
"Down Yonder" – Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers
"Will You Be Loving Another Man?" – Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys
"Blue Yodel No. 4" – Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (inspired by Jimmie Rodgers)
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" – Bill Monroe
"My Little Girl in Tennessee" – Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys
"Old Salty Dog Blues" – Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" – Earl Scruggs / Flatt and Scruggs
"Blue Grass Breakdown" – Bill Monroe
"Earl's Breakdown" – Earl Scruggs
"Molly and Tenbrooks" – Bill Monroe (later recorded by the Stanley Brothers)
"O Death" – Traditional (performed by Ralph Stanley)
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" – Flatt and Scruggs
Titles Mentioned That Are Not Songs
Television
The Beverly Hillbillies
Films
Bonnie and Clyde
O Brother, Where Art Thou?