BLUEGRASS MUSIC  -- A HISTORY

by Pam North

Bluegrass music has its roots entwined with traditional folk music
from the British Isles (particularly Scotland and Ireland), and
Africa.  The banjo, an integral component to bluegrass sound, is
derived from a design borrowed from African sleves.  Immigrants
brought their vocal and instrumental music traditions with them as
early as the 1600s, and it spread from Jamestown through Kentucky,
Tennessee, North (particulatly the western part) and South Carolina,
Virginia and West Virginia, reflecting rural life.  The early 1900s
brought the inventions of the phonograph and radio, and the music that
primarily had been a part of Appalachian rural culture began to spread
throughout America.

Bluegrass music, although a relatively new form of music, manages to
sound old, the result of being a synthesis of many older styles of
music. It is an amalgram of old-time music, blues, ragtime and jazz.
  
First gained national attention when Bill Monroe and the
Bliegrass Boys appeared on the Grand Old Opry in 1945, with Lester
Flatt (guitar), Earl Scruggs (banjo), Chubby Wise (fiddle) and Cedric
Rainwater (bass).  Bluegrass music relies mostly on acoustic stringed
instruments - fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and upright
bass - and sometimes the resonator guitar, known as the Dobro). 

The guitar originated in Spain 
The mandolin, fiddle and acoustic bas originated in Italy.  
The banjo, an integral component to bluegrass sound, is derived from 
a design borrowed from African sleves The origin of the banjo

The 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of the popular Monroe Brothers; Bill
and Charlie played the mandolin and guitar reapectively, and they
harmonized as a singing duet.  When they split as a team in 1938, each
formed his own band.  It was Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys who
appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in 1939, introducing a unique
hard-driving sound that incorporated a blend of gospel, country and
blues music.  Guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and upright bass were
the acoustic elements, combined with unusual vocal harmonies.  Bill
Monroe is acknowledged as the "founding father" of bluegrass music,"
and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shortly after
his death in 1996.  The sound he originated continued to evolve,
however.

Earl Scruggs, a young North Carolina banjo player, joined Monroe's
band in 1945, bringing his innovative three-finger picking style.
Also influencing the band's sound was Tennessee's Lester Flatt on
guitar and lead vocals, Florida's Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard
Watts (also known as Cedric Rainwater) on acoustic bass.  The addition
of these musicians and their combined talents served as a catalyst to
achieving what is considered the classic bluegrass sound. Flatt and
Scruggs eventually formed their own band, The Foggy Mountain Boys, and
they added the resophonic guitar (Dobro) to their instruments.  Flatt
and Scruggs appeared on television and toured the country from 1948 to
1969, continuing to popularize bluegrass music.  Their "Foggy Mountain
Breakdown" instrumental was a signature piece in the soundtrack for
the 1969 movie Bonnie & Clyde, Flat and Scruggs parted company in
1969, pursuing their separate careers.

The 1950s and 1960s saw a continuing swell in the popularity of
bluegrass music.  It permeated our culture via television (The Beverly
Hillbillies), movies (Deliverance and O Brother, Where Art Thou?).
The song "Dueling Banjos" was an instant hit.  Bluegrass bands
proliferated.  Audiences expanded and bluegrass music spread over all
fifty states and thirty countries.  The classic style of bluegrass is
still performed, but the genre continues to mutate with influences
from traditional and fusion jazz, Celtic music, country music, rock &
roll, blues and gospel music.

"In bluegrass, as in jazz, each instrument takes a turn playing the
melody and improvising around it, while the others revert to backing.
This is in contrast to old-time music, in which all the instruments
play the melody together, or one instrument carries the lead while the
others provide accompaniment Bluegras is distinctively acoustic, rarely
using electric instruments."

Resources:  International Bluegrass Music Museum