A fine biography of the creator of bluegrass music. Although
well-known and appreciated by his Grand Ol Opry colleagues, artists
of other genres were also enthusiastic fans of Bill Monroe and
claimed him as a major influence on their careers. The list is
diverse: Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Elvis
Presley, Levon Helm (of the Band), Chris Hillman (of the Byrds),
and Jerry Garcia, among others. Born in rural Kentucky to a musical
family, Monroe quickly became a virtuoso on the then-lowly
mandolinthe more desirable instruments having already been taken up
by his older siblings. Starting out with his brother Charlie, also
an accomplished musician, he eventually went off to form his own
band, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, from which the term
bluegrass music was coined. Musician and music writer Smith points
out that bluegrass is the only musical category whose origins can
be arguably credited to one man, but he notes that while Monroe
might have been its creator, the genre itself is an amalgam of
square dance fiddle tunes and modal ballads rooted in British Isle
traditions, African-American blues, southern Protestant church
harmonies, [and] Tin Pan Alley pop elements. Monroes genius was the
melding of these disparate elements into a uniquely American art
form. A difficult man in private, Monroe was capable of holding a
grudge for decades against those whom he thought had crossed him,
but he was also unsparing when helping young musicians in his
employ. Smith relates how Monroe flouted southern racism by hiring
a gifted African-American harmonica player named DeFord Bailey, and
in the way he elegantly ignored his hirelings objections. The
author does a good job telling the story of this backwoods genius,
but his writing is hardly scintillating, especially when describing
music (e.g., He could really hang onto a note and make it sing).
The story of a truly American artist and his art are told in this
well-researched and nicely presented volume. (16 pages b&w
photos, not seen) (Kirkus Reviews)
Elvis Presley chose one of his songs, "Blue Moon of Kentucky," for his first single. A young Jerry Garcia traveled cross-country to audition for his band. Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, and even Frank Sinatra were fans. Considering the range of stars and styles that claim him as an influence, no single artist has had as broad an impact on American popular music as Bill Monroe.
Born in 1911 in rural Kentucky, Monroe melded the fiddle tunes, ballads, and blues of his youth into the "high lonesome" sound known today as bluegrass, making him perhaps the only performer to create an entire musical genre. His distinctive bluegrass style profoundly influenced country, early rock 'n' roll, and the folk revival of the 1960s. A Grand Ole Opry star for more than sixty years, Monroe was a searing mandolinist who redefined the instrument, a haunting high-range vocalist, and a god-like figure to generations of admirers who became famous in their own right.
When Monroe died in 1996, he was universally acclaimed as "the Father of Bluegrass," but the personal life of this taciturn figure remained largely unknown. His childhood feelings of isolation and abandonment - "lonesomeness" he called it - fueled his reckless womanizing in adulthood and inspired his most powerful compositions. From his professional breakthrough in the Monroe Brothers duet act to his bitter rivalry with former sidemen Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to his final days as a revered elder statesman of bluegrass, Monroe's career was filled with trials and triumphs. Now, veteran bluegrass journalist Richard D. Smith has interviewed a multitude of Monroe's surviving friends, lovers, colleagues, and contemporaries to create a three-dimensional portrait of this brilliant, complex, and contradictory man. Compellingly narrated and thoroughly researched, Can't You Hear Me Callin' is the definitive biography of a true giant of American music.
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