Bluegrass, it's said was invented by
Bill Monroe,
(yt) but where
would bluegrass have been without the banjo style of
Earl
Scruggs?
(yt) Together they
created a sound that has become known
as Bluegrass. In 1945 George Elam Scruggs joined up with
Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, two years later Scruggs left to form
a group with
Lester Flatt(yt), but not before gifting Monroe with
the amalgam that was and is Bluegrass. Other players like
Chubby Wise born 1915, Lake City, Florida(yt), and bassist Howard
Watts became known as the "Original Bluegrass Band".
[more inside]
posted by nola
on Feb 28, 2010 -
19 comments
In the wake of the tornados and armageddon, perhaps some happy news is in order. The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have released the
third volume in their
Will the Circle Be Unbroken series. This series which
began 30 years ago and continued with
Volume 2 in 1989, features the boys in the Dirt Band getting together with country legends like
Johnny Cash, members of the
Carter Family and
Vassar Clements and inheritors like
Emmylou Harris and
Ricky Skaggs and doing some astonishing versions of old traditional tunes, hymns and a few originals.
I'm listening to Vol. 3 right now, which features first timers like
Dwight Yoakam, the lovely
Iris Dement and even
Tom Petty, and I'm tellin' ya, it's a worthy addition to the tradition, my freinds.
Traditional music is enjoying a revival right now and that's great, but these folks have done an enormous amount to keep it alive and vital between the vogues and created some music for us in the bargain.
posted by jonmc
on Oct 2, 2002 -
17 comments
