Monday, August 8, 2016

Doc Watson V3

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN

1) INTRO>
2) Salt Creek/Doc Watson & Tony Rice – 4/25/97 – Merlefest  
3) 3x7/Doc & Merle Watson – 3/1/73 – Lisner Auditorium/Washington DC
4) Spikedriver’s Blues/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman & Marty Stuart – 9/21/79 – Oberlin College
5) Alberta/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 10/27/88 – OT Prices/Santa Cruz, CA
6) I Recall a Gypsy Woman/Doc Watson – 10/28/01 – NCSA Winston-Salem, NC
7) Workingman’s Blues/Doc & Richard Watson w Jack Lawrence – 12/08/01 – Neighborhood Theater/Charlotte, NC
8) Florida Blues/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 6/14/97 – CDA Bluegrass Fest/Grass Valley, CA
9) Long Journey Home/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence w David Grisman – 8/2/98 – Rockygrass/Lyons, CO
10) Ain’t Nobody’s Fault But Mine/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman – mystery filler
11) Wagoner’s Lad/Doc Watson & David Holt – 7/31/10 – Newport Folk Festival
12) House of the Rising Sun/Doc Watson & David Holt – 1/27/08 – Birchmere/Alexandria, VA
13) Train that Carried My Girl to Town/Doc Watson & David Holt w T. Michael Coleman – 8/15/10 – Bristol, TN
14) Bottle of Wine/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence w T. Michael Coleman – 8/8/87 – Chateau St Michelle Winery/Woodinville, WA
15) Tennessee Waltz/Doc Watson w Jeff Little & Randy Greer – 3/7/98 – Walker Center/Wilkesboro, NC
16) Farewell Blues/Doc Watson & Ralph Rinzer – 12/31/61 – Deep Gap Tapes
17) Got The Blues (Can’t Be Satisfied)/Doc Watson & Family – 7/10/04 – Doc Watson Fest/Sugar Grove, NC
18) Way Downtown/Doc & Merle Watson w the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – 4/28/74 – Marin County Bluegrass Festival
19) Down Yonder/Doc Watson, Jack Lawrence & T. Michael Coleman w Sam Bush, John McCuen & Jimmy Fadden – 6/21/86 – Telluride
20) Little Beggar Man> Salt Creek (reprise)/Doc Watson & Tony Rice – 4/25/97 - Merlefest

Hey Everybody-
Hope Y'all have been enjoying the Doc Watson, I know I've been having a good time finding all this stuff. I've transferred a few more of my Winterhawk videos to the Black Mountain Underground YouTube Channel that are worth checking out. Below are some new Doc transfers that are again unlisted, available only here for the first time. Please feel free to pass them around...thanks for Listening!
This is the old Jimmy rogers song Never No More Blues-
 
This is a medley of Big Sandy River and Salt Creek with a story from Jack on the origin of the title-
Here's the old Carter Family song Keep On The Sunny Side- 
LINKS:
Kris Kehr News/Info
Dr. Bubba's Youtube Channel

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Doc Watson V2

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN 

1) Intro>
2) My Creole Belle/Doc Watson & Taj Mahal – 8/9/86 – Prairie Theater/Minneapolis, MN
3) Summertime/Doc Watson w Jack Lawrence & T. Michael Coleman – 8/8/87 – Chateau St. Michelle Winery/Woodinville, WA
4) Greenville Trestle/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 10/27/88 – OT Prices’/Santa Cruz, CA
5) Sunny Tennessee/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence w David Grisman – 11/3/89 – 1st Methodist Church/Boulder, CO
6) Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 5/12/90 – the Hearth/Pipersville, PA
7) Sweet Georgia Brown/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence w T. Michael Coleman & Mike Auldridge – 6/26/93 – Dahlonega, GA
8) Make Me Down a Pallet on Your Floor/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 4/23/94 – Raleigh, NC
9) Don’t This Road Look Rough & Rocky/Doc Watson w Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers – 5/1/94 – Merlefest/Wilksboro, NC
10) Shady Grove/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 5/25/96 – Florida Folk Festival/White Springs, FL
11) Ramshackle Shack/Doc Watson & Tony Rice – 4/25/97 – Merlefest/Wilksboro, NC
12) St. Anne’s Reel>Ragtime Annie/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 6/14/97 – California Bluegrass Association Bluegrass Festival/Grass Valley, CA
13) Ready for the Times to Get Better/Doc Watson w Jack Lawrence, David Grisman & Jerry Douglas – 8/2/98 – Rockygrass/Lyons, CO
14) Travelin’ Man/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 1/16/00 – St. Michaels Church/Wilton, CT
15) Deep Elem Blues/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence – 2/18/01 – Arcata Theater/Arcata, CA
16) I’m a Stranger Here/Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence w Tony Rice – 3/23/02 – Suwanee Spring Fest/Live Oak, FL
17) In the Pines /Doc & Richard Watson w T. Michael Coleman – 7/10/04 – Doc Watson Fest/Sugar Grove, NC

I'm happy to bring you another in our series on Doc Watson...here are some videos I shot at Winterhawk in 1994, close to the stage with a tripod. There is a link below for Dr. Bubbas' YouTube Page where you can check out all the 'official' ones but please take note, I will be posting videos ongoing that are unlisted and only found here, such as these-

Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence at The Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival in 1994. This is the medley of the East Tennessee Rag & the Beaumont Rag.
 
Here's another tune from the team of Doc Watson, Jack Lawrence, T. Michael Coleman, Tim O'Brien, Pete Wernick & Jerry Douglas, the Wabash Cannonball.

 
In Volume Three we'll float around Doc's career between Tony Rice bookends, there is a wealth of live material out there for the Doc Watson fan, and below are some great links to check out...

Thanks for Listening, See ya next time!

LINKS:
Phasinated/Doc Watson (wonderful listening page)

Kris Kehr News/Info
Dr. Bubba's Youtube Channel

Listen to Kris Kehr on Bandcamp
Listen to Kris Kehr on Archives
Download Kris Kehr on itunes
Kris Kehr on Youtube

Doc Watson V1

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN 

1) IN>
2) Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down/Doc Watson (guitar & vocals) – 12/31/61 – Deep Gap Tapes 
3) Dream of the Miner’s Child/Doc Watson (guitar & vocals) – 5/17/63 – Ashegrove/LA, CA 
4) Peach Pickin’ Time in Georgia/Doc Watson (guitar & vocals) – 6/21/69 – Bean Blossom Workshop 
5) Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad/Doc & Merle Watson – 8/22/69 – Philly Folk Festival 
6) Blackjack County Chain/Doc & Merle Watson – 3/1/73 – Lisner Auditorium/Washington, DC 
7) Country Blues/Doc & Merle Watson – 4/27/74 – Marin County Bluegrass Festival 
8) Deep River Blues/Doc Watson & Merle Travis – 1976/Walnut Valley Festival/Winfield, KS 
9) Wild Bill Jones/Doc Watson (banjo & vocals) – 8/19/78 – Fiddler’s Convention/Mountain City, TN 
10) Cyprus Grove/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman & Marty Stuart – 9/21/79 – Oberlin College/Oberlin, OH 
11) The Cuckoo/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman – 7/4/80 – Freedom Park/Charlotte, NC 
12) Tennessee Stud/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman – 8/7/80 – the Whitehouse/Washington, DC 
13) Brown’s Ferry Blues/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman – 9/14/82 – PB Scotts Music Hall/Blowing Rock, NC 
14) Southbound Passenger Train/Doc Watson w the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – 2/8/83 – Great American Road Show/Houston, TX 
15) Smoke, Smoke, Smoke/Doc & Merle Watson w Mark O’Conner – 3/6/83 – Starry Night Club/Portland, OR 
16) The Last Thing On My Mind/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman – the Downhome/Johnson City, TN – unknown date 
17) Windy & Warm/Doc & Merle Watson w T. Michael Coleman – mystery filler 
18) Black Mountain Rag/Doc Watson w Jack Lawrence, T. Michael Coleman & Sam Bush – 6/21/86 – Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Merle & Doc in 1971, with high-tech taper of the day.
This is a repost of an earlier podcast with some obviously dated discussion, but the music is timeless...

  I used to make tie-dye t-shirts for the Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival, that's my initial tie-in, so to speak. Spent most of the years '88-94 or 5 working at the festival as well as delivering the shirts, although I liked showing up early and getting a good spot up on the hill back behind the big trees and I had a lot of good times there with friends old & new. As a volunteer complete backstage access was included, food and staging. And one dusky night a forlorned and drunken me was watching the end of Alison Krauss & Union Station's set from the dark side of the stage when I noticed Doc Watson by himself, traipsing guitar in hand into the din towards a few gathered folding chairs facing out to warm up for his impending set. I felt my steps drawn towards his and when caught up I folded my legs and dropped to the dirt directly in front of him as he poised his guitar on his lap and grunted some acknowledgment of my presence, quiet as I remained. He scurried up and down the neck of his guitar a foot and a half from my eyes and settled on the old English ballad Jack a Roe, a song I've never seen on any of his albums or concert set lists, so I perked up further to the incredible speciality of the moment. As Alison's stage grew quiet with set preparation, Doc's guitar rang out further into the surrounding summer dusk, turning some faces in our direction behind me. Around that time Alison's album I've Got That Old Time Feeling was gaining her and her band Union Station some wide spread attention and I was a big fan of her guitarist Jeff White's version of the traditional Wild Bill Jones, before I'd never heard Doc's banjo version that is included here today. As if by intuition, Doc launched into a gorgeous guitar version of the song so much closer to Jeff's recorded style and that of course just heard on stage, as Jeff himself quietly stepped forward from behind and crossed his arms standing, drawn to the moment in much the same way I was. There were tears streaming down my face by that point and I'm not sure if it was because of that realization or the shear beauty and power of his playing and presence at that moment in my life, I'd never felt anything like that before. Luckily it was dark and I quietly stepped away, in some kind of emotional bluegrass shock. I still remember the steel bands of concentration in his temples.

(l-r) Pres. Carter, Merle, T. Michael & Doc - Whitehouse 1980
When I returned to Winterhawk in later years I brought with me my trusty old video camera and a box of vhs tapes, because as a volunteer you have access to the area between the audience and the stage cut off with a snow-fence and a plug about 25 feet worth of electric cord away.. I brought my tri-pod too, and have been having a ball transferring this stuff to youtube recently. I kept coming back to the stage and grabbing different bands when I could break away from my volunteer duties that weekend (which included parking the late John Duffey and some of the other guys in the Seldom Scene on their way in for their set in a huge Lincoln Continental cracking jokes at me with the air conditioning blaring and drinks in their hands (with a driver, of course), awesome, awesome, we'll be seeing a bunch from those guys coming up on the show as well) and I'll be adding those videos to the blog here from time to time when I can. You can check out my YouTube channel to see what I already have up, I think they'll let you know when I add stuff if you sign up. The stuff here today is from Doc's three sets the last weekend of July, 1994.   

Here's the introduction and Hold the Woodpile Down from the early set, as well as I'm Troubled.
 
These next songs are from the later set that night, a Friday where it started off as the duo but brought up a few guests as the set went along. These include T. Michael Coleman & Mike Auldridge on Solid Gone and Way Downtown.
Same thing the next night but with some different guests. Here we have T. Michael Coleman again (he had just left as Doc's long-time bassist earlier in the year for the Seldom Scene but still shares an incredible musical bond) as well as Jerry Douglas, Pete Wernick & Tim O'Brien on Greenville Trestle and the Farewell Blues.
 
Lots more Doc next time with Volume 2 and more vids from Winterhawk '94...
Thanks for Listening!
PERTINENT LINKS:
Phasinated/Doc Watson (wonderful listening page)
Kris Kehr News/Info
Dr. Bubba's Youtube Channel

Listen to Kris Kehr on Bandcamp
Listen to Kris Kehr on Archives
Download Kris Kehr on itunes
Kris Kehr on Facebook
Kris Kehr on Youtube
Kris’s Music Blog/Podcast Black Mountain Underground
Julie’s Myspace page

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Bill Monroe in the 60's

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN - Bill Monroe in the 60's - Part 1
DOWNLOAD/LISTEN - Bill Monroe in the 60's - Part 2
DOWNLOAD/LISTEN - Bill Monroe in the 60's - Part 3 

PART1-
        INTRO-
1)       Traveling Down this Lonesome Road/BMBB w Don Reno & Mac Wiseman – 8/14/60 – Watermelon Park/Berryville, VA
2)      Can’t You Hear Me Callin’/ BMBB w Don Reno & Mac Wiseman – 8/14/60
3)      When You Are Lonely/ BMBB w Don Reno & Mac Wiseman – 8/14/60
4)      Sugar Coated Love/BMBB w Carter Stanley – 7/4/61 – Luray, VA
5)      Walkin’ the Dog/BMBB – 10/28/62 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
6)      John Hardy (instrumental) /BMBB – 10/28/62 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
7)       Cotton Fields/BMBB 10/28/62 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
8)      Ida Red/BMBB – 10/28/62 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
9)      Dance Around Molly/BMBB – 10/28/62 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
10)  You’ll Find Her Name Written There/BMBB – 2/8/63 – NYU/NYC
11)    Big Sandy River/BMBB – 4/21/63 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN
12)   Feast Here Tonight/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – 5/17/63 – Ashegrove/LACA
13)   Cheap Love Affair/BMBB – 8/18/63 – American Legion/Culpepper, VA
14)   Dark Hollow/BMBB – 8/18/63 – American Legion/Culpepper, VA
        BREAK>
15)   A Pretty Fair Maiden/BMBB – 10/13/63 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
16)   Brand New Pair of Shoes/BMBB – 10/13/63 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
17)   Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone BMBB – 10/13/63 – Brown County Jamboree/Bean Blossom, IN
18)  John Henry/BMBB – 10/25/63 – Bowden, GA
19)   Bluegrass Breakdown/BMBB – 10/25/63 – Bowden, GA
20) Chicken Reel/BMBB – 10/25/63 – Bowden, GA
21)   Devil’s Dream/BMBB – 10/27/63 – East Point, GA
22)  Darlin’ Cory/BMBB – 5/24/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN
23)  Sally Joe/BMBB – 5/24/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN
24)  Wheel Hoss/BMBB – 5/24/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN
25)  On My Way Back to the Old Home/BMBB – 5/24/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom 

PART2-
INTRO> 
1)  Last Old Dollar/BMBB – Spring of ‘64/Ann Arbor, MI 
2)  Bluegrass Ramble/BMBB – Spring of ‘64/Ann Arbor 
3)  Old Joe Clark/BMBB – Spring of ‘64/Ann Arbor, MI 
4)  I Wonder Where You Are Tonight/BMBB – 8/23/64 – Sunset Park/West Grove, PA 
5)  What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – 8/23/64 – Sunset Park/West Grove, PA 
6)  New River Train/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – 9/10/64 – Philly Folk Fest/Schwenksville, PA 
7)  The Hills of Roane County/BMBB – 9/10/64 – Philly Folk Fest/Schwenksville, PA 
8)   Molly & Tenbrooks/BMBB – 9/10/64 – Philly Folk Fest/Schwenksville 
9)   Muleskinner Blues/BMBB – 9/10/64 – Philly Folk Fest/Schwenksville, PA 
10) Little Joe/BMBB – 9/27/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN 
11) Shenandoah Breakdown/BMBB – 9/27/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN 
12)  The Old, Old House/BMBB – 9/27/64 – Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN
BREAK> 
13)  On & On/BMBB – 10/64 – Barre, VT 
14)  Panhandle Country/BMBB – 10/64 – Barre, VT 
15)  Mary at the Homeplace/BMBB – 10/64 – Barre, VT 
16)  A Tiny Broken Heart/BMBB – 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park 
17)  Careless Love/BMBB – 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN
 18)  Billy in the Lowground/BMBB – 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park 
19)  Stoney Lonesome/BMBB – 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park/Bean Blossom, IN 
20) Roane County Prison/BMBB – 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park 
21) Walk On Boy/BMBB – 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park 
22) White House Blues/BMBB 4/18/65– Bean Blossom Park
OUTRO

PART3-
INTRO- 
1)     Keep on the Sunny Side/BMBB w Tex Logan, Mike Seeger & Alice Gerrard – 6/17/65 – Tex Logan’s House/Madison, NJ 
2)     Who’s That Knockin’ on my Window/BMBB w Tex Logan, Mike Seeger & Alice Gerrard – 6/17/65 
3)     Poor Ellen Smith/BMBB w Mike Seeger – 6/17/65 
4)      Paddy Won’t You Drink/BMBB w Tex Logan – 6/17/65 
5)     Tennessee Waggoner/BMBB w Tex Logan – 6/17/65 
6)     New Camptown Races/BMBB w Frank Wakefield – 6/17/65 
7)      Arkansas Traveler/BMBB w Frank Wakefield – 6/17/65 
8)     Golden Slippers/BMBB w Frank Wakefield – 6/17/65 
9)     Sally Goodin/BMBB w Frank Wakefield – 6/17/65 
10)  Wabash Cannonball/BMBB – 6/17/65 
11)   Memories of Mother & Dad/BMBB – 6/17/65 
12)  I Wish I Had a Nickel/BMBB – 6/17/65 
13)  Traveling Blues/BMBB – 6/17/65 
BREAK- 
14)  Soldiers Joy/Bill Monroe & Peter Rowan – 9/3/65 – Carlton Haney Bluegrass Festival/Roanoke, VA 
15)  The Grey Eagle/Bill Monroe & Peter Rowan – 9/3/65 
16)  Two Little Boys/BMBB – 11/7/65 – Bean Blossom Park 
17)  Carroll County Blues/BMBB – 11/7/65 – Bean Blossom Park 
18)  O’er the Way/BMBB – 11/7/65 – Bean Blossom Park 
19)  Brown County Breakdown/BMBB – 11/7/65 – Bean Blossom Park 
20) Little Green Pill/Bill Monroe & Tut Taylor – 1965-66 – DJ Convention/Nashville, TN 
-OUTRO

LINKS:

The Music of Bill Monroe - Part 6 (Duets & Sit-ins)

Bill Monroe - Part 6 - Duets & Sit-ins
DOWNLOAD/LISTEN

1)   Introductions by Bill Monroe & President Carter> Watson’s Blues/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Whitehouse – 8/7/80 
2)      You Won’t Be Satisfied that Way/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Ashegrove/LA, CA – 5/17/63 
3)      This World is Not My Home/Bill & Charlie Monroe – New River Ranch/Rising Sun, MD - 5/8/55  (2nd show) 
4)      The Banks of the Ohio/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Ashegrove/LA, CA – 5/17/63 
5)      The One I Love is Gone/Bill Monroe w Hazel & Alice – Tex Logan’s House/Madison, NJ – 6/20/66 
6)      The Dusty Miller/Bill Monroe & Tut Taylor – TT Reel #38/DJ Convention/Nashville, TN – 1965 
7)       Feast Here Tonight/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Sunset Park/West Grove, PA – 8/23/64 
8)      Get Up John/Bill Monroe & Peter Rowan – Carleton Haney Bluegrass Festival/Fincastle, VA– 9/3/65 
9)      Darlin’ Cory/Bill & Charlie Monroe – New River Ranch/Rising Sun, MD - 5/8/55 
10)  Bill’s intro>What Does the Deep Sea Say?/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Sunset Park/West Grove, PA – 8/23/64 
11)    Little Cabin Home on the Hill/Bill Monroe & the Seldom Scene – Smithsonian Institute/Washington, DC – 2/6/82 
12)   Paddy on the Turnpike/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – the Whitehouse – 8/7/80 
13)   Stoney Point/Bill Monroe & Tut Taylor – TT Reel #38/DJ Convention/Nashville, TN – 1965 
14)   Watermelon Hangin’ on the Vine/Bill & Charlie Monroe – 78 vinyl transfer 
15)   Blackberry Blossom/Bill Monroe & Peter Rowan – Carleton Haney Bluegrass Festival/Fincastle, VA – 9/3/65 
16)   Midnight on the Stormy Deep/Bill Monroe & Doc Watson – Bean Blossom - 6/21/69 
17)   Turkey in the Straw/Bill & Charlie Monroe – Town Hall Party/Compton, CA – 12/24/55 
18)  I Know You Rider/Bill Monroe & the Seldom Scene – Smithsonian Institute/Washington, DC – 2/6/82



The Music of Bill Monroe - Part 5 (1980-94)

Bill Monroe - Part 5
DOWNLOAD/LISTEN

1) Introductions by President Jimmy Carter & Bill Monroe - the White House/Washington DC – 8/7/80
2)
Georgia Rose - the White House/Washington DC – 8/7/80

3)
Rawhide - the White House/Washington DC – 8/7/80

4)
My Last Days on Earth – Smithsonian Institute/Washington, DC – 2/6/82

5)
Baltimore BreakdownArtscape/Baltimore, MD – 7/21/85

6)
Wolf Trap BluesArtscape/Baltimore, MD – 7/21/85

7)
Brown County Jamboree Barn – Berkshire Mountain Festival/Duanesburg, PA – 7/26/85

8)
One Finger Blues – Great American Music Hall/San Francisco, CA – 8/21/89

9)
Come Hither to Go Yonder – the Brickhouse/State College, PA – 2/2/90

10)
Goodbye Old Pal – Jekyll Island, GA – 12/29/90

11)
Sugarloaf Mountain – Jekyll Island, GA – 12/29/90

12)
Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day – Jekyll Island, GA – 12/29/90

13)
I’m On My Way Back to the Old Home – Jekyll Island, GA – 12/29/90

14)
Northern White Clouds – Ziggy’s/Winston-Salem, NC – 12/31/93

15)
Big Mon – Ziggy’s/Winston-Salem, NC – 12/31/93

16)
In the Pines – Cherokee Bluegrass Festival/Cherokee, NC – 8/26/94

17)
Southern Flavor - Cherokee Bluegrass Festival/Cherokee, NC – 8/26/94

18)
You’re Causing Me Trouble – Cherokee Bluegrass Festival/Cherokee, NC – 8/26/94

19)
Tombstone Junction – Fallgrass @ the Dunfey Hotel/San Mateo, CA – 11/12/94

20)
Wayfaring Stranger – Fallgrass @ the Dunfey Hotel/San Mateo, CA – 11/12/94

21)
I’d Love to Be Over Yonder – Jekyll Island, GA – 12/31/94


Bill Monroe - V5

This installment of our look at the music of Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys swims around in the later world he created, a world where bluegrass had become a respectable art form and not just an out-of-date novelty of country music no longer prominent on the Country Charts, which sadly had become fact by the late 50's. The Great Folk Revival/Scare of the 60's helped re-establish Bill as the father figure within the sport and helped gain him a new, younger audience that would stick with him long after the healthy glow of the folk boom wore off. But it wasn't until the 80's when Bill gained the recognition and kudos he deserved, his legacy clearly present while playing for President Carter at the White House, the pride obvious in his speech. It was a different world than that when he first formed the Bluegrass Boys in the 40's and after some hard work and re-adjustment he had finally found his place in it.


Most of the songs written during this time were instrumentals, gems such as Jerusalem Ridge, Northern White Clouds and Southern Flavor all as distinct and picturesque as anything he'd ever written with lyrics, maybe more so...the prospect of the great beyond was obviously weighing heavy on his creative process and he was getting much more experimental with mandolin tunings, sometimes to ominous effects; just listen to My Last Days on Earth which is also the name of the box set released by the marvelous Bear Family Records that chronicles this same period in his career that we are today but with the official releases as well as some radio stuff. Actually Bear Family Records has done this with all points in Monroe's career, as well as other important country/roots artists and is the gold standard in box set collections. My Last Days on Earth is an ominous instrumental, not just flirting with the great beyond or questioning it but embracing it, using it as his muse, which was evident in this era. I'd Love to Be Over Yonder, Wayfaring Stranger, Tombstone Junction, I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home, Goodbye Old Pal, Come Hither to Go Yonder, My Last Days on Earth are just a sampling of the titles referring to looming darkness and the great hereafter, and what I think made his music at this time even more substantial and real, thus effective. It came from a wholly personal perspective and so set this period apart from the others.


Bill Monroe passed on September 9th, 1996 and left behind a substantial catalog of material, we have only scratched the surface here so far. If you're interested in listening to a decent cross-section of material from all points in Bill's illustrious career, the Music of Bill Monroe is a great.  The Bear Family series can pinpoint different eras, separating his career into 4 parts with a comprehensive book to accompany, and the Columbia Box serves up his early career with the Bluegrass Boys ably. There's also a great book about Bill's recording sessions called The Music of Bill Monroe (Music in American Life) by Neil Rosenberg and Charles K. Wolfe as well as a plethora of books written about or by various Bluegrass Boys.



Additional Links:
-Bill Monroe's 100th Birthday celebration-

Here's a link to an alternative version of Wayfaring Stranger, a free download provided by the Florida Folklife Program.

Recorded: 29 May 1993 by the Florida Folklife Program 1993/Florida Folk Festival (Old Marble Stage), White Springs, Florida (S 1576, tape D93-25)