# Music by Genre > Rock, Folk Rock, Roots Rock, Rockabilly >  Monroe's Influence on Rock and Roll

## Rick Albertson

After playing Bluegrass Part One (Twist) last night at a jam, another jammer was shocked to learn that Bill Monroe had written the song and had played a role in shaping early rock and roll.

Got me wondering about which of his songs were most influential, when were they first recorded, and who they impacted.

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## Mike Bunting

Rocky Road Blues has been a rockabilly staple. I once figured out Chuck berry's intro to Johnny B Goode and it was basically the same as the intro to Muleskinner Blues. I heard a story of bluesman Albert King knocking on the door of the Monroe bus one night, wanting to meet Bill. I think that great musicians transcend their genre.

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## mrmando

Elvis recorded "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in one of his early Sun sessions, did he not?

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## Paul Kotapish

> Elvis recorded "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in one of his early Sun sessions, did he not?


He did, indeed. When asked about how he felt about it, Mr. Monroe was reputed to have responded, "Those were some mighty powerful checks."

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## Mike Bunting

> He did, indeed. When asked about how he felt about it, Mr. Monroe was reputed to have responded, "Those were some mighty powerful checks."


I'm glad that Monroe had the integrity not to sell out to the money boys, though.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
from you-know-who

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## Jeffff

I no longer know what selling out means. Is it selling out to be paid a nice wage to play your music? At what point does a nice wage become selling out?

If you have played 1000 nights in strange bars for gas money and cheap beer and someone offers you a few  bucks to make a record is that selling out?

If 10 million people love the recored you loved making is that selling out?

Bill Monroe played music for money. Is that selling out?

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## Barry Wilson

selling out is letting your music be used for a tampon commercial

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## Jeffff

Unless you are 70 years old and broke.

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## Barry Wilson

Like Neil Young and this note's for you. That said I write music pieces for commercials and background music in real estate videos as a side project. so I am one to talk hehe. it's fun doing instrumental stuff sometimes. I do music for fun though and not to make a living, so maybe not the best example..

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## Jeffff

I didn't mean to hijack the thread  :Smile:

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## Rick Albertson

Anyone interested in furthering my education re: the initial questions I posed?

1) which of his songs were most influential?
2) when were they first recorded?
3) which early rockers did they influence?

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## allenhopkins

Bill Monroe's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, inducted posthumously in 1997; *here's* his R&RHOF "timeline" page.

I have to think his "influence" has more to do with attitude and innovation than it does with direct contribution.  There are some Monroe songs -- _Blue Moon of Kentucky_ perhaps the most notable -- that have been recorded in rock'n'roll style, and some early rockers like Buddy Holly, and later ones like Jerry Garcia, Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon etc. played bluegrass before they got established in rock.  But Monroe's example of instrumental virtuosity, stubborn adherence to an individual musical path, and high-energy delivery may be more to the point, of why he's seen as an influence on rock.  There is also 1960's Monroe's willingness to add younger Northern musicians to his band -- as long as they played _his_ music _his_ way -- and his later-career openness to playing before younger audiences.

But Monroe never appeared to welcome rock or pop influences on his own music, other than some "And Friends" albums in the last decade of his life that included "mainstream country" acts, and perhaps a few songs or tunes in his repertoire.  His all-acoustic style was firmly imbedded in the mid-1940's (a recorded exception or two, at his producers' suggestion, notwithstanding), and stayed unchanged for the next 50 years.  So you can't think of him as "country rock" or "roots rock" or any " --- rock" hybrid: bluegrass all the way.

So rockers listened to Bill Monroe, and perhaps emulated some of his approach or attitude.  Monroe listened to rock, as well, but never seemed to want to move toward it.  Not that he couldn't have, but that would have clashed with his self-contained musical world, where he considered himself the definer of what was and wasn't bluegrass.

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## Ed Goist

It all goes back to the Blues, and before that, to the African-American Spiritual.
In this great mandolin workshop video Tim O' talks about how Monroe's early emphasis on the Blues likely influenced Chuck Berry, using _Bluegrass Stomp_ as the classic example.

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## Mike Bunting

> I no longer know what selling out means. Is it selling out to be paid a nice wage to play your music? At what point does a nice wage become selling out? When make your music with the goal of appealing to the mass audience and making it palatable to the most people possible and removing any aspect that might challenge of offending anyone. People come to Monroe's music, people come to Dylan's music, Monroe and Dylan did not chase the audience
> 
> If you have played 1000 nights in strange bars for gas money and cheap beer and someone offers you a few  bucks to make a record is that selling out? No
> 
> If 10 million people love the recored you loved making is that selling out? No
> 
> Bill Monroe played music for money. Is that selling out? No


It's not hard to figure out.

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## Mike Bunting

> Bill Monroe's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, inducted posthumously in 1997; *here's* his R&RHOF "timeline" page.
> 
> I have to think his "influence" has more to do with attitude and innovation than it does with direct contribution.  There are some Monroe songs -- _Blue Moon of Kentucky_ perhaps the most notable -- that have been recorded in rock'n'roll style, and some early rockers like Buddy Holly, and later ones like Jerry Garcia, Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon etc. played bluegrass before they got established in rock.  But Monroe's example of instrumental virtuosity, stubborn adherence to an individual musical path, and high-energy delivery may be more to the point, of why he's seen as an influence on rock.  There is also 1960's Monroe's willingness to add younger Northern musicians to his band -- as long as they played _his_ music _his_ way -- and his later-career openness to playing before younger audiences.
> 
> But Monroe never appeared to welcome rock or pop influences on his own music, other than some "And Friends" albums in the last decade of his life that included "mainstream country" acts, and perhaps a few songs or tunes in his repertoire.  His all-acoustic style was firmly imbedded in the mid-1940's (a recorded exception or two, at his producers' suggestion, notwithstanding), and stayed unchanged for the next 50 years.  So you can't think of him as "country rock" or "roots rock" or any " --- rock" hybrid: bluegrass all the way.
> 
> So rockers listened to Bill Monroe, and perhaps emulated some of his approach or attitude.  Monroe listened to rock, as well, but never seemed to want to move toward it.  Not that he couldn't have, but that would have clashed with his self-contained musical world, where he considered himself the definer of what was and wasn't bluegrass.


Pretty much agree with all that except the phrase " self-contained musical world, where he considered himself the definer of what was and wasn't bluegrass." I think that may make it sound sort of petty. I think that he was just a primitive artist who had a very clear vision of what he thought his music should be.

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## maki

Ed, thanks for the Bluegrass Stomp vid, that was fracking awesome!
BTW, hello everyone.

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## Elliot Luber

Man, was he ahead of his time.

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## MandoSquirrel

> After playing Bluegrass Part One (Twist) last night at a jam, another jammer was shocked to learn that Bill Monroe had written the song and had played a role in shaping early rock and roll.
> 
> ...


I had that reaction from a mandolin player, thinking "Bluegrass Stomp" was a Rock & Roll tune at a Bluegrass jam!

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## Ben Milne

When there are no more tickets available to your gig, you have sold out.  
Not necessarily a bad thing now is it?

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## allenhopkins

> Pretty much agree with all that except the phrase " self-contained musical world, where he considered himself the definer of what was and wasn't bluegrass." I think that may make it sound sort of petty. I think that he was just a primitive artist who had a very clear vision of what he thought his music should be.


I apologize if I made Monroe sound "petty."  From all I've seen and read of the man, I think he was pretty fiercely protective of what he considered to be "his" music.  Only in his later years was he quoted as taking any pleasure in the fact that others had adopted -- and built on -- the music he founded.  When other bluegrass bands first appeared in the late 1940's and early '50's, he appeared to react jealously, as if "his" music had been "stolen" by Flatt & Scruggs, the Stanleys, etc.  I do think he considered his "clear vision" -- which I agree he definitely had -- to be the definition of what bluegrass was, and should be.

Later on, he appeared a bit bewildered, though pleased, by the fact that the "long-haired kids" knew so much about his music, and knew when it was performed "right" (presumably, "right" meant "the way I do it").  Rock'n'roll audiences might react very positively to the energy, drive and instrumental skill of Monroe's music, though they might attach less value to the homespun lyrics and imagery, and the pervasive themes of mother, church, rural life and romantic love, often approached from a sentimental and "unenlightened" perspective.

I have puzzled a bit about the perceived connection between Bill Monroe and rock'n'roll; I wonder if Bill himself saw any such connection, or if there was an event that embodied such a connection.  I'd like to hear from someone who could develop that line of discussion.

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## Fretbear

> Later on, he appeared a bit bewildered, though pleased, by the fact that the "long-haired kids" knew so much about his music, and knew when it was performed "right" (presumably, "right" meant "the way I do it"). Rock'n'roll audiences might react very positively to the energy, drive and instrumental skill of Monroe's music, though they might attach less value to the homespun lyrics and imagery, and the pervasive themes of mother, church, rural life and romantic love, often approached from a sentimental and "unenlightened" perspective.


He told Sambo to "Stick with the fiddle..." You can make of that what you like....
When you get right down to it, Bill's life more closely resembled a classic bluesman's than anything else.
While he wrote and stole lots of songs, the themes that they evoked were often more theoretical in his own life than actual. He lived on the road, as much as any road-dog musician ever has or will, was a serial adulterer, and his religious views (at least from much of the Gospel he took credit for writing) was amongst the "Repent sinner or we'll watch you burn in hell" variety. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan.

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## M.Marmot

I dunno, for my own part  i have to admit that i am dubious that Mr. Monroe had any direct or substantial influence on the development of Rock and Roll.

That Elvis covered one of his songs does not mean a lasting or profound influence, Elvis' early recordings, generally covers, liberally sample from a great variety of American singers and songwriters. In this instance Mr. Monroe was just one among many, and in my book one cover does not a substantial influence make. If the Monroe - Presley influence was more definite or sustained, say on a parallel with Guthrie - Dylan perhaps i might give it more credence as seminal for Rock and Roll. 

That Mr. Monroe incorporates elements of the blues into his playing and compositions also seems to me a bit insubstantial as proof of a solid and singular influence on Rock and Roll. The forties and fifties not only boasted some fine Blues musicians but also scores of other musicians that could boast of a blues influence. That some of Mr. Monroe's blues licks might sound like those played by later Rock and Roll players is, on the face of it, not really that unusual... i'm sure the case could be made for many early musicians who played through the blues influence.

I do agree with those who point to the drive and energy that Mr. Monroe's groups played with as being a possible pre-cursor to Rock and Roll. I think on one clip of early Bill Monroe and Bluegrass Boys, and Mr. Monroe kicks off one number in a ferocious manner that belies the idea of acoustic music being genteel. Personally speaking, i'd still like some more direct proof of that being the case before i'd agree with the idea of there being definite and direct influence.

I'm not resistant to the idea of Mr. Monroe being a direct influence on the development of Rock and Roll, but, i would like to see some definite cases made to advocate that idea more fully. As things stand the best case i can possibly think of was Mr. Monroe's presence on popular radio programmes such as the Grand Old Opry would have given him a greater public exposure than most other recording musicians. Yet, even that in itself does not guarantee his subsequent influence on a later music genre, especially one that mainly appealed to teenagers who may not have heard or even been alive for Bill Monroe in his pomp. Perhaps, at best, Mr. Monroe's influence on Rock and Roll may be entirely indirect, but even if it was, in my opinion, this does not take any from his legacy and his music.

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## mandopops

I think implying Monroe had any influence on Rock & Roll is really a stretch.

Chuck Berry's Guitar influence was Louis Jordan's Guitarist Carl Hogan.

As the story goes, George Harrison was asked his opinion of Andres Segovia, George replied, "He's the father to us all." Segovia heard of this and said,"Their father? They play Electric Guitar, their not even my illegitimate children."

What made me think of that story?

Don't get me wrong I love the illegitimate children.

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## Joe Mendel

Didn't Emmy Lou Harris once say she thought Bill Monroe was the first heavy metal musician? Referring to his attitude.

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## JimRichter

This thread has been discussed before and with the same amount of disagreement.

I will need to look for the quote (it's in another thread I posted to a few years ago) but Chuck Berry was influenced by Monroe.  Yes, he was influenced probably more directly by both T-Bone and Muddy Waters.  However, Berry listened to the Opry, as did many other southern musicians and mentioned enjoying Bill Monroe by name.  Remember, this was a period of time when A&R hadn't clearly compartmentalized musical genres as it did in the late 50s.  Carl Perkins listened to the Opry and counted Monroe as an influence.  The Everly Brothers were directly influenced by Monroe (and the Monroe Brothers) as their dad, I believe, worked with Monroe in the 40's and early 50's in tent shows.  Elvis was obviously influenced.  Then in the 60s, has had been mentioned, Monroe influenced many such as Garcia, Peter Rowan and David Grisman (who both founded the rock band Earth Opera and later Sea Train for Rowan and Richard Greene), Dylan, and Hillman.

Likewise, Monroe was influenced by a variety of music at that time.  He may have denied it, but he was aware of other popular music and it definitely showed in the earlier Blue Grass Boys as he experimented with a variety of sounds until his sound gelled with Flatt and Scruggs.  And, Scruggs was definitely influenced by Big Band music of the day as is apparent in his playing on Foggy Mountain Special, Dear Old Dixie, and the like.  There was definite cross-pollination.

There is no stretch to say Monroe had an influence on rock and roll.  The stretch would be to claim he created it or had a more direct influence on some than he did.  It was a special time in popular music that was killed by the late 50's (especially in Nashville)

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## Rick Albertson

Honky Tonk Swing; 1941; Bluebird
Rocky Road Blues; 1945; Bluebird
Bluegrass Special; 1946; Columbia

Seems to me these three songs were pretty close to early rock and roll and must have had an influence.

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## Tom Smart

From the Chuck Berry entry on Wikipedia:

[Chuck Berry] and Carl Perkins became friends. Perkins said that "I knew when I first heard Chuck that he'd been affected by country music. I respected his writing; his records were very, very great." As they toured, Perkins discovered that Berry not only liked country music, but knew about as many songs as he did. Jimmie Rodgers was one of his favorites. "Chuck knew every Blue Yodel and most of Bill Monroe's songs as well," Perkins remembered. "He told me about how he was raised very poor, very tough. He had a hard life. He was a good guy. I really liked him."

I'll just add that the influence of country music can be heard all over 1950s rock. Why should that surprise anyone? What do you suppose anyone from Memphis with an interest in any kind of popular music at all would have been listening to on a Saturday night? Nashville is only 200 miles away.

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## Beanzy

Don't forget the influence of mainstream hyper-commercialised 30's swing bands like the Light Crust Doughboys. I know it sounds slightly strange but bands like these were a pre-war conduit through which many first became aware of the possibilities musically, but were repulsed by the 'cheesy' image. Monroe reacted strongly against the hammed-up hick image these bands cultivated. Early R&R acts were kicking against that too, but I don't think it was under his influence, rather a shared rejection of the inane. One things for sure they both went their own ways once they got a clear image of what they were after. He went for one sound in a civilised suit, they went for another electrified one gyrating in leathers. I love both, though I'm only getting around to BG now.

The swing musicians were really accomplished high-energy guys though:
Check out the banjo solo / crescendo at the end of this one;

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## Barry Wilson

that tiger rag was ripping. holy crap that banjo was screaming

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## poymando

I'll have to hunt down the actual quote but if my memory is not failing me, early Sun Records recording artist, Charlie Feathers said that Rockabilly was "nothing more than Bill Monroe music and cotton patch blues".

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## mandopops

There is no denying that most Rock & Blues Musicians (Black & White) of the Era listened to the Opry & it's whole roster of performers. Monroe was one of many. Fine. I'm sure it all had some effect. I agree w/ Jim it's in the degree on each individual. 

I would not deny Chuck Berry knew the Music of Bill Monroe. It's that it's impact was not great enough to cause him to go the Bluegrass route, as much as going towards Louis Jordan, Nat Cole, or Muddy Waters. Elvis too, did not go in the Bluegrass direction. In fact, didn't Monroe move "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" in the Elvis direction?

Isn't it that fewer & fewer performers at the time went that direction? Monroe & Bluegrass were falling out of favor. His influence was diminishing. Musicians (Country,Blues,Rock,etc...) were rejecting that approach. For better or worse.

Monroe the 1st Heavy Metal? Is that supposed to be a compliment?

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## Wolfboy

> I'll have to hunt down the actual quote but if my memory is not failing me, early Sun Records recording artist, Charlie Feathers said that Rockabilly was "nothing more than Bill Monroe music and cotton patch blues".


Here ya go - Charlie Feathers, quoted in _Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians_ by Peter Guralnick. The final sentence seems especially germane to the subject of this thread...

"To be honest with you, I never did do a whole lot of country. Now Hank Williams - I always liked his stuff a lot. And Bill Monroe, he used to come through Hudsonville, set up tents and all, man I thought it was the greatest thing I ever heard. Well, you see, I loved bluegrass all my life, but I never did know how to play it. There wasn't nobody around who could play that type of music, only colored artists thumping on their guitars. Oh man, there wasn't anything to beat it. Them colored get out there on the weekend, they get together anywhere there was a guitar, just tune that guitar way down and whomp on it. Man, they play and gamble and shoot dice all day long, all night long, too. Sam [Phillips], he always said I was a blues singer, but I was really singing bluegrass and rapping on the guitar like I heard them colored artists do. Bluegrass rock, that's what it really was. Sam called it rhythm 'n' blues, some said it was country rock, but Bill Monroe music and colored artists' music is what caused rock 'n' roll."

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## Paul Kotapish

> "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
> from you-know-who


I love the quote, but . . . http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dub...r_thompson.htm

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## Mike Bunting

> I love the quote, but . . . http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dub...r_thompson.htm


Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it.
- Following the Equator, Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar

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## ralph johansson

> Honky Tonk Swing; 1941; Bluebird
> Rocky Road Blues; 1945; Bluebird
> Bluegrass Special; 1946; Columbia
> 
> Seems to me these three songs were pretty close to early rock and roll and must have had an influence.


They were blues and Monroe didn't invent the blues; it was ubiquitous in popular music and jazz at the time.

I understand that Rocky Road was really a cover of some black musician's recording. Whatever similarities you hear between Monroe and various rock artists to me only imply they share some influences.

The first white R&R star, Bill Haley, was a country singer in the beginning. In 1951 he recorded Rocket 88, a conscious attempt to blend R&B with country music, and that's where he took off from. He always claimed that the back-beat in R&R derived from the sock rhythm guitar in country music. I've read several interviews with Haley and never have I seen any mention of Monroe.

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## mandopops

To Ralph's point, as the song goes:

"The Blues had a baby & they called that baby, Rock & Roll."

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## Paul Kotapish

I always loved this explanation from Levon Helm in _The Last Waltz_:

_[Martin Scorsese is asking Levon Helm about his home state, Arkansas, and his musical influences]_

*Levon Helm:* Bluegrass and country music ... if it comes down into that area and if it mixes there with the rhythm and if it dances, then you've got a combination of all that music ...

*Martin Scorsese:* What's it called?

*Levon Helm:* Rock and roll.

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## allenhopkins

Definite connection between *country music* and rock'n'roll.  Just finished reading a history of Starday Records and Don Pierce, and the extensive rockabilly catalog Starday created in the late 1950's just shows there were a lot of country musicians ready to rock.

However, not the same thing as establishing a connection between *bluegrass* in general, and *Bill Monroe* in particular, and early rock.  That's more problematical, absent some more explicit evidence.  There were some (Greene, Rowan) who played in the Blue Grass Boys and later played rock, of a sort, in Earth Opera and Seatrain, but they were young city musicians who listened to and experimented with a wide variety of styles over their careers.

That is not something one can readily say about Bill Monroe.  He found the style that suited him -- in fact, he pretty much _invented_ that style -- and stayed with it.  Trends and fads came and went, but the Monroe sound from 1946 was awfully close to the Bill Monroe sound of nearly 50 years later.  Compared to Monroe, Earl Scruggs was a wild-eyed eclectic, and the McReynolds and Osborne brothers, with their drums and electric basses, were more "modern," for better or (mostly) worse.

I'm sure rockers listened to Monroe, and liked his drive, energy, instrumental skill, and overall attitude -- "here I am, like it or not, doing it _my_ way regardless of critics and fashions."  But did they take his music and incorporate it into rock'n'roll?  Maybe just a bit, here and there, but *major influence*?  Don't see how the case has been proven.

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## Mike Bunting

> There were some (Greene, Rowan) who played in the Blue Grass Boys and later played rock, of a sort, in Earth Opera and Seatrain, but they were young city musicians who listened to and experimented with a wide variety of styles over their careers.


Grisman was in Earth Opera too playing mandocello, at least when I saw them.

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## Paul Kotapish

Good points, Allen. I suspect that--aside from "Blue Moon of Kentuck"--Monroe's influence was a lot more subtle than specific in most cases. 

Still, I'm always amazed at how often his name comes up when musicians of all sort talk about their early influences and musical heroes. Jerry Garcia always comes to mind, of course, since he actually headed east with the idea of auditioning for Monroe at one point and frequently talked about how the threads of country and bluegrass were woven into the Dead's musical tapestry. 

When I interviewed David Lindley some years back he was adamant that his fabulously eclectic (and very electric) El Rayo-X ensemble was "all bluegrass" in its conception--not in any obvious way, of course--but in how the songs were modeled, the relative roles of the different instruments, how the breaks were handled, etc. 

Interesting that Monroe declined the invitation to participate in the _Will the Circle Be Unbroken_ sessions, which certainly had a lot of impact on a generation or two of musicians who otherwise wouldn't have been aware of bluegrass or early country music.

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## brunello97

Interesting thread and conversation. Levon Helm seemed to nail it during an interview in "The Last Waltz" when he talks about that blend of country, bluegrass and blues that was happening around East Arkansas. Scorcese asks him what's it called. "Rock and Roll."  Makes me recall the equally apocryphal stories of Miles Davis saying he wanted his horn to sound like Sinatra singing and Charlie Parker saying what a fan he was of country music in general and Hank Williams in particular. A good reminder of what a great big creative stew American music was (and maybe still is but from a distance that seemed like a particularly special era.) 

I've never been much of a fan of Monroe or his music, but this thread has got me listening again, hopefully without prejudice. And I thank y'all for that.

Mick

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## tree

Maybe the question should be how Arnold Shultz influenced rock and roll, through the playing of Monroe.  Shultz was openly cited by Monroe as a blues influence.

I am also struck by the similarity between Chuck Berry's signature lick in Johnny B. Good, and Monroe's breaks between verses in the 1941 ("pre-bluegrass") version of Were You There.   :Popcorn:

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## Fretbear

Robert Johnson was playing fully-realized (acoustic drum-less) R&R in the thirties on his 29 sides.
He and Monroe were born within six months of each other in the same year, 1911. Everybody acts like R&R was some recent invention from the fifties & sixties; the British "invaders" were copying (and stealing credit for) old Willie Dixon blues and Little Richard records and the American Rockabilly cats were already at least half country to go with their other half, which was (rhythm &) blues. It should read: "The blues (and country) had a baby, and they named it Rock and Roll..." Levon Helm will tell you himself that Muddy McKinley Morganfield Waters is the real holder of the title of "King of Country Music." Bill Monroe was one of the bluesiest country musicians around, and played his mandolin alot like Chuck Berry played his archtop guitar, except he was doing it first.

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## maki

> Maybe the question should be how Arnold Shultz influenced rock and roll, through the playing of Monroe.  Shultz was openly cited by Monroe as a blues influence.
> 
> I am also struck by the similarity between Chuck Berry's signature lick in Johnny B. Good, and Monroe's breaks between verses in the 1941 ("pre-bluegrass") version of Were You There.


Just read much the same at this site;



> http://www.mandolinblues.com/story.html
> 
> In the surrounding countryside other musicians and bands flourished. W.Howard Armstrong and Carl Martin and their Tennessee Chocolate Drops performed for medicine shows, parties and fish fries. Yank Rachell traveled about, playing the deep blues with his guitar partner Sleepy John Estes. Young Bill Monroe played guitar with a black fiddler named Arnold Schultz. Monroe then took the fiddle music of his Uncle Penn and the blues from Schultz and blended them together on the mandolin, creating a new American genre that came to be known as bluegrass.

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## Dave Gumbart

Ron Thomason has talked about Bill's influence on rock and roll, and he makes a very compelling case for Bill's emphasis on the 2 & 4 as the genesis for the backbeat of rock and roll.  No doubt he has discussed this elsewhere, but I'll have to check on a recording I have of Ron and Brian Aldridge doing a Monroe workshop at Grey Fox last year to see if there's more specifics I can dig up. His opinion was certainly based on more than just "oh yeah, those early rockers all loved Bill's music..."  I remember thinking to myself that it would make for a heck of a research project.

"It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it." So, I wonder where they found it.

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## Mike Bunting

> .
> 
> "It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it."


"Any old way you use it."
Good post.

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## mandocrucian

_"I'm 118 and I like it......"_

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## allenhopkins

> Grisman was in Earth Opera too playing mandocello, at least when I saw them.


Yeah, but he didn't work with Bill Monroe; the point I was trying to make was that some of the "citybilly" Blue Grass Boys went on to play rock'n'roll.  Jerry Garcia supposedly was going to audition for a banjo slot in Bill's band, but got cold feet.  Bill Keith played banjo for Monroe (his early "chromatic" leads on fiddle tunes were extremely influential), and went on to play pedal steel in The Great Speckled Bird, a country/rock ensemble fronted by Ian & Sylvia Tyson.  But Keith was very eclectic, also playing in The Jug Band with Kweskin and the Muldaurs.  

No one contends that some bluegrass people didn't play rock.  Given.  Still skeptical that Bill Monroe's a major influence on rock, just because he "chopped" his mandolin on the "two" and "four" beats, and _some_ of his breaks sound like _some_ of Chuck Berry's.

Everyone in music listens to everyone else, sometime.  I want so see some actual documented interaction before I cop to the "major influence" theory.

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## M.Marmot

> Everyone in music listens to everyone else, sometime.  I want so see some actual documented interaction before I cop to the "major influence" theory.


That's more or less my own take on things too, i just don't see how simply because you heard or listened to some music or were aware of some musician that automatically leads to being influenced by them. 

Heck-o, if that was the case i'd be channeling the ghosts of Duran Duran and Katchagoogoo, i mean, those bands had massive airplay when i was growing up... and as far as i can tell i'm still blessedly free from embodying their music's dubious charms.

But i do appreciate some good research and if someone can demonstrate a definite substantial link that can trace the stamp of Mr. Monroe's big ol' boot on Rock on Roll's hide then i'd be excited to see it.

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## Dave Gumbart

Warning: very long post, beginning with a real tangent.  Sorry for the verbage.  Some good research would be just the thing.  I did check out the Thomason/Aldridge Monroe workshop (Grey Fox 2011, thanks to the humble little Zoom H2), and here's what I can report.  First, the prelude.  On a hot July day, Friday the 15th, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper have just finished their set on the main stage, at about 3:30.  Smokin'.  About to head to the Monroe workshop Ron and Brian are set to do, the main stage change becomes something else entirely.  Kenny Baker has just died, only one week earlier.  Grey Fox is the first place many can share the grief for the man, and celebrate the music with others who might just know what the heck you're talking about.  Matt Glaser enters with a large cast of players, and announces the Kenny Baker Memorial Orchestra will now play a tribute.  At first curious, and then attentive, the folks lucky enough to be in the crowd at that moment are treated to a medley of some 10+ minutes, dedicated to Baker.  Kentucky Waltz, with Tim O' taking vocals, starts off.  Matt calls on Michael Cleveland to get to the front of the stage.  Into Cross Eyed Fiddler, and it sounds like all the fiddlers in heaven itself are accompanying the group, as goose bumps arise and a happy tear swells up.  Stoney Lonesome rocks the joint, and they finish with the Dead March, as the assembled musicians slowly leave the stage, leaving Michael to finish things off in solemn fashion.  Wow.  The couple behind me are equally awestruck.  Time to get to the workshop.  Having checked out the Baker Memorial Orchestra, I get to the workshop a bit late, and hear that I have just missed Big Mon.  Fair enough.  That Baker tribute is on You Tube, and while it can never replicate being there, it is worth the view.  Now for our feature presentation.

At the workshop, someone asks a question about Bill's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Ron replies:

I gave the keynote speech.  That, again, was a surrealistic experience.  Ive told different parts about it before, but every word is true.  I got to the rock and roll hall of fame, and it is has athe lady who was, I always called her the curator, but I dont think that was hershe was the director of it.  She came out, real nice, and she was takin me around to see all the things in the rock and roll hall of fame, and it was quite fantastic.  Of course, I really loved the early period of rock and roll, and at that time, thats mostly what was there.  And we get to this place, like a corner you turn around.  And she says wait a minute, wait a minute, and she comes up and covers my eyes, and says now dont look until I take my hands off your eyes, like _okay...no, Im lookin_  She walks me around this corner, and goes voila!  And I open my eyes, and she says tell me what you see.

Well, what I saw was this white suit; 25 dollar mandolin hangin next to it; a few buttons on it and different thingsI knew what I wasand a white hat.  I knew what I was supposed to tell her was I see Bill Monroe.  But what I realized was, what I see is an empty suit, which is just exactly the opposite of Bill Monroe, you know?  They coulda had his name there and it woulda meant more to me.

That was when she said what are you going to speak on this evening? and I said What would you like for me to speak on? And she said, of course Ill never forget this, she said I only know about Bill Monroe is that he wrote Blue Moon of Kentucky, and Elvis Presley recorded it.  Do you know anything else?  Well, as a matter of fact

Hes in there.  After all, he wrote Blue Moon of Kentucky.  And Elvis Presley recorded it.  But what he really did, and this isIm sorry, one thing leads to anotherIn my mind, and I could be wrong about this, and this might make an interesting topic to argue aboutwe could have a knife fight over thisI think when it comes to modern American music, he invented the backbeat.  And Ive listened to a lot of pre-Monroevian music.  And were so conditioned to hearing the backbeat in music now, that you hear it when its not there.  And Ill challenge you to do this.  When I listen to old Flatt & Scruggs music, I hear the backbeat, but it aint there.

When they were playin with Bill Monroe, he had not yet started doin the mandolin chop.  And those great, classic songs, with Lester and Earl and Bill and Chubby Wise recorded do not have a mandolin chop in it.  And Ive challenged people about that, and they think its there.  And I used to think it was there.  But you go listen to those songs.  It aint there.  And it came in just about the time that Flatt & Scruggs left Monroe  I think maybe just shortly after that.  And thats when, if you think about the birth of rock and roll, which came very shortly after that, just a year or two

Whats the difference between rock and roll and early country musicits the backbeat.  Its that mandolin chop.  That mandolin chop comes when your foot's in the air.  If you tap your foot to music, the chop comes when its in the air, no matter what happens, and thats the backbeat.  And its been in music ever since  its the dominating factor of music now.

But, you listen to jazz or blues, or any other music from that pre-Monroevian period..aint no backbeat.  Its just not there. The downbeat was what defined music then.  And I argued that in my keynote speech, and I didnt get anybody to argue back against me. (end RT comments)

These comments were then followed by introduction to Watson Blues, where Ron says of Brian he plays it just like Bill, only better.  And the music they then played just takes you to another planet

So, that's just one mans's opinion.  Glad I was there, though.

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## allenhopkins

> I think when it comes to modern American music, he invented the backbeat...it came in just about the time that Flatt & Scruggs left Monroe  I think maybe just shortly after that.  And thats when, if you think about the birth of rock and roll, which came very shortly after that, just a year or twoWhats the difference between rock and roll and early country musicits the backbeat.  Its that mandolin chop.  That mandolin chop comes when your foot's in the air.  If you tap your foot to music, the chop comes when its in the air, no matter what happens, and thats the backbeat.  And its been in music ever since  its the dominating factor of music now...*But, you listen to jazz or blues, or any other music from that pre-Monroevian period..aint no backbeat.  Its just not there.* The downbeat was what defined music then.  And I argued that in my keynote speech, and *I didnt get anybody to argue back against me*...


I have the greatest respect for Ron Thomason, but that's just silly.  No back-beat in jazz, blues, country music before Bill Monroe started "chopping" on his mandolin?  Really?

Here's Count Basie with the Metronome All-Star Band on a 1942 Columbia recording:



I'm no jazz-rhythm maven, but jeez, I'm hearing a pretty pronounced back-beat there.  And this is an example it took me three minutes to find on YouTube.

The back-beat, accents on "two" and "four," is one of the pronounced features of swing music, and the Swing Era was rolling 'way before Lester and Earl left the Blue Grass Boys.  Were early rockers more likely to emulate Bill Monroe than Count Basie?  Maybe yes, maybe no, I dunno -- and you don't either.  All that music was around, on records, on the radio, in the movies, listened to by people of all descriptions.  Jazz, blues, western swing, "trad" country, and people's ears getting access to all of it.

So, I'm not buying Monroe as the inventor of the back-beat.  A strong advocate, perhaps, as he pounded out that rhythm to keep the ever-changing casts of the Blue Grass Boys musically together, but it was around, prominently around, before the time Thomason cites.

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## mandocrucian

Davey Crockett, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan......they're no part of nuthin' (cause they don't have nuthin' on ol' Bill)

*The Ballad of Billy (the kid) Monroe*

_Born on a mountain in Ken-tuck-y
Reddest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree
He kilt him a b'ar when he was only three
Billy, Billy Monroe, the king of rock and roll

Invented the blues by the time he was four
Taught Penn the fiddle and Schultz the geetar 
And while he was a'handlin' this risky chore
Made hisself a legend forever more
Billy, Billy Monroe, he sho loves that jellyroll

Went to the golf course to have some fun 
First time out shot twelve hole-in-one
All in-between composing banjer runs
That Kim-Jong-Il, he was plain outdone
Billy, Billy Monroe, the wonder of the whole frontier

Took Johnson to the crossroads and then to hell
Taught the whole delta, so I hear tell
He went off to the Opry and served a spell
Fixin' up the country and western as well
Billy, Billy Monroe, the Mozart of the wild frontier

His music is the biggest, his song is the best
From grassy stages to the mountain crest
He's ahead of us all and meetin' the test
Gonna 'foller his legend right into the west
Billy, Billy Monroe, the king of rock & roll
Billy, Billy Monroe, the king of grass and blues
Billy, Billy Monroe, the king of Dixieland too
Billy, Billy Monroe, there aint nuthin' he didnt do
Billy, Billy Monroe, he's the king of rock & roll
_

 :Laughing: 

Is there any truth to the rumors that Bill fathered both Stevie Wonder and Ted Nugent?

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## Ed Goist

Mandocrucian, I would compliment you on a fantastic post, but...
Wasn't that originally written by Bill Monroe?  :Smile:

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## brunello97

Awesome, Niles, thanks for that. 

Monroe 'invented' backbeat? (Kind of reminds me of the 'Columbus discovered America' myths.) Mighty white of 'ol Bill, wasn't it?

Mick

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## Dave Gumbart

Well, for Ron's part, he did say "In my mind, and I could be wrong about this, and this might make an interesting topic to argue aboutwe could have a knife fight over this" I imagine if the Director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says to you "all I know is he wrote Blue Moon of Kentucky.." you can pretty much say anything you want.  In fact, if Bill didn't invent music, would Louis Armstrong have even been born?

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## Wolfboy

I've always accepted Monroe's direct influence on a number of rock performers, and I don't rule out that a case could be made for his influence on the genre as a whole, but I'm with Allen on the idea of Monroe inventing the backbeat...no offense intended to Ron Thomason, for whom I have the greatest respect, but I can't buy that at all. Allen provides evidence from the swing era, and here's some even earlier evidence from the Irish music world (which, like Allen's clip, took me all of about 30 seconds to find on YouTube):

Michael Coleman playing "Lord McDonald/Ballinasloe Fair"; recorded in 1927. 

Notice not only the strong backbeat in the piano accompaniment but the way Coleman himself is emphasizing the backbeat in his bowing. Typical of Irish fiddling then and now. It's dance music, after all, and the backbeat gets people moving. When those tunes came over from Ireland and Scotland and settled in America, the backbeat remained, and I don't doubt a young Bill Monroe heard it in the fiddling of his uncle Pen.

(And if you're thinking "Lord McDonald" sounds a lot like "Leather Britches"...yup, you got it. Sometimes the tunes changed names when they came over as well.)

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## Elliot Luber

I have nothing but the highest respect for Bill Monroe, and I'm grateful to Scott for creating the Mandolin cafe, where I happily spend a good deal of time and energy, but I do get the feeling some people see this as the Bill Monroe Cafe. Sure, we're all fans of Bill and his many works and influences within and well beyond Bluegrass music. While these are huge and considerably broad, they unfortunately are not infinite. I heard Bill invented the Internet too.

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## Dave Gumbart

Hey, for what it's worth, I posted the above comments from Ron since I thought it was interesting.  Something more appropriate to be discussed over a beverage or two, in person, than through the web. So, while I love Monroe just fine, I haven't pronounced him inventor of anything, nor do I drink long and deep from the Rosine Kool-Aid.  As for Mr. Thomason, well, he can spin a good yarn.  And plays mandolin pretty good too.

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## brunello97

I don't often drink beer, but when I do, I prefer to talk about other things than whether Bill Monroe 'invented backbeat'.

Stay choppy my friends.

Mick

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## allenhopkins

> Hey, for what it's worth, I posted the above comments from Ron since I thought it was interesting.  Something more appropriate to be discussed over a beverage or two, in person, than through the web. So, while I love Monroe just fine, I haven't pronounced him inventor of anything, nor do I drink long and deep from the Rosine Kool-Aid.  As for Mr. Thomason, well, he can spin a good yarn.  And plays mandolin pretty good too.


Agree absolutely, and no critique of your post intended.  Ron T is an amazing raconteur, as well as an A-1 mandolin player, and I sorta wonder whether, being tasked to come up with an intro to Bill Monroe for an audience that probably confused him with _Vaughn_ Monroe, he didn't just pick a controversial subject and throw it out there for what it was worth.

After all, he'd just seen that the R&RHOF's idea of a Monroe tribute display, was an empty white suit and an Asian-import mandolin.  Somehow I get the feeling that the Hall of Fame management was a tad clueless about Bill M.

And hey, it ain't the "Bill Monroe Cafe" by a long shot.  Monroe is arguably the most influential American mandolinist of the last century, but there's a lot of mandolin that ain't Monroe.

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## toddjoles

Not a Monroe comment specifically, but I once heard saw an interview with John Fogerty talking about their music.  He claimed CCR's music was just electric bluegrass.

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## ralph johansson

If you want to trace the country roots of white R&R you can start by listening to the Delmore Brothers, e.g., Hillbilly Boogie from 1946. On some later cuts Zeke Turner plays electric lead guitar - you can also hear him on early Hank Williams cuts,
e.g., Move It On Over and Rootie Tootie. The early (white) rockers were certainly aware of, and influenced by, that stuff. On YouTube you can find some clips from the Jimmie Davis
movie Louisiana with some very pronounced sock rhythm guitar. The movie was shot
in 1946 or 47.

Etc. etc. etc.

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## John McGann

There's plenty of backbeat accents in the Louis Armstrong Hot Fives and Sevens from the mid 1920's, not to mention ragtime piano and blues guitar stuff that predates that...maybe not a 'chop', but it's still there.

I do agree much of Monroe's music rocks! No denying his influence on the founding artists of rock and roll and rockabilly.

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## Wolfboy

> Agree absolutely, and no critique of your post intended.


Same here! It's just fun arguing about this sort of thing...as I imagine Mr. Thomason would be the first to agree.  :Smile:

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## Dave Gumbart

Thanks for the comments - understood.  Interesting to see John's reference of the Hot Fives and Sevens with Louis Armstrong.  I did put on a cd of that this weekend, and enjoyed listening for the first time in a long time.  Lots of links in the musical chain, all leading to what comes next.   Excellent recommendations for listenting, I will be checking out some of what's been listed.

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## Elliot Luber

There was alot published about Rock'n'Roll's family tree in the '70s, witnessed by posters like this , but I wonder if anyone has ever done America music from 30,000 feet, to see how it spread, to look across both racial and generational lines and give a real wholistic view of our musical heritage.

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## brunello97

> There was alot published about Rock'n'Roll's family tree in the '70s, witnessed by posters like this , but I wonder if anyone has ever done America music from 30,000 feet, to see how it spread, to look across both racial and generational lines and give a real wholistic view of our musical heritage.


I picked up Greil Marcus's "Old Weird America" with that thought in mind, Santiago. I find Mr. Marcus's writing style more than a bit constipated but I appreciated and ultimately learned a lot from the book.

Likewise the film with (almost) the same name which tracks Harry Smith's anthology of American folk music seems like a worthwhile view.  I have not seen the film and welcome reactions to it from those who have

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/4588...Music/overview

Mick

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## CharlieKnuth

Bill Monroe's harmony singing had a profound influence on the Everly Brothers' singing.  The Everly Brothers harmony singing had a profound influence on the Beatles.  Not sure if the Beatles influenced anyone.  :Wink:

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## journeybear

True enough. A lot of people like what they like and assume that someone as good as (fill in the blank) was truly inspired, sprang fully grown from the head of Zeus, and owes nothing to anybody. But of course everyone listens to someone else's music, no one lives in a vacuum, and stuff seeps in unbidden from probable and unlikely sources. A lot of people never bother to dig deeper, to find out where their beloved artists' music came from, to wade upstream (so to speak) to the source. This is an often rewarding endeavor, but it is wise to bear in mind that what you think influenced someone may say more about _your_ musical tastes and development than _theirs_. We are looking backwards from the present, and can see how things _may_ have interrelated, while they were making it up as they went along.

As I said recently in another thread, influences are a tricky thing, and when not specifically named by the person in question, are often the result of speculation and interpretation, and thus subject to inaccuracy and inconsistency. To use myself as an example, since I know _my_ influences: my playing style owes a lot to Jerry Garcia and Jimi Hendrix, but my band does only two Dead songs and no Hendrix (and one of those Dead songs is more Grisman than Garcia, anyway  :Wink:  ). In this case, I would put more weight behind anything someone personally said about being influenced by Monroe than some third party's guessing or drawing conclusions. Hard to do that in this case, but I'll be sure to ask Bill next time I see him.  :Whistling:  That said, I like the line drawn regarding singing. The Beatles are on record about being influenced by The Everly Brothers' harmonies, and I can hear Monroe in their voices - though I may well be getting misled by the very process mentioned above.  :Smile:

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## allenhopkins

> ...I like the line drawn regarding singing. The Beatles are on record about being influenced by The Everly Brothers' harmonies, and I can hear Monroe in their voices - though I may well be getting misled by the very process mentioned above.


I guess I can hear Bill Monroe -- a bit -- but I can hear the Blue Sky Boys, the Louvin Brothers, and, of course, Ike Everly as well.  The Everly Brothers sang "country" harmonies, and it did contrast with the R&B-influenced "doo-wop" approach of many other 1950's and '60's rock singers.  Not surprising, since Dad Ike was a professional country singer.

I'm not comfy being a consistent nay-sayer in this thread; I'm sure a lot of early rockers listened to Monroe, and a lot of '60's rockers played bluegrass at some point in their careers.  Just find it hard to see a direct connection or an easily identifiable influence -- other than Monroe's *attitude* toward his music, the drive, instrumental virtuosity, and stubborn adherence to a musical vision.

I also think we should be careful, not to take every "country" influence in rock'n'roll, and attribute it to Monroe and bluegrass.  There were a great number of non-bluegrass country musicians in the 1950's who were ready to rock, producing the rockabilly sound that was an important component of that musical scene.  Many of them describe listening to Southern blues and R&B stations, and combining that sound with up-tempo country to produce rockabilly.

Is there an example of an established bluegrass musician from the "pre-folk"* days, who crossed over to rock'n'roll?  One with a Southern country background?  I've heard that Buddy Holly, down in the Southwest, played bluegrass-like music before becoming a rocker, but I've never heard an example of this music.  Any others?

* the reason for specifying "pre-folk" is to leave out the "citybilies" who got into bluegrass, then into rock: Garcia, Grisman, Rowan, Greene, Hillman, Leadon, etc.; looking for a Southern first-generation bluegrasser who played rock'n'roll.  (And excluding Don Reno -- _Country Boy Rock & Roll_.)

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## journeybear

I agree with you - this kind of analysis can easily lead to  revisionism. I am nowhere near as well-versed in the Monroe catalogue as many others here, and can only offer some very limited insight, and am trying to avoid conjecture. I too would be interested to see specific examples of direct influence, and as I said, direct quotes from rockers hold the most water, AFAIK. The "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" interchange is the most obvious one, and it does seem reasonable that the tempos and geography shared by bluegrass pickers and rockabilly cats offer some common ground, and thus there should be more examples. Otherwise, some rock bands have worked bluegrass into their repertoire -  for instance, Grateful Dead did "Sitting On Top Of The World" on their first album (1967), in a pretty upbeat tempo, too.

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## Dave Gumbart

This discussion has got me interested in what first-person accounts there are about Monroe and bluegrass influencing rock.  Interestingly enough, a brief look around the web today brought up the following from Richard Smith's book on Monroe, Can't You Hear Me Callin'. I read this last year, but wouldn't have really remembered any one passage.  But, the following excerpt from pp. 133-134 of his book are online (Google books preview).

As (Carl) Perkins later recalled, I loved the blues and I loved bluegrass.  I heard this Blue Moon of Kentucky by Elvis, I said Whoa.  Believe me, I played the song that way.  It was Bill Monroe-influenced bluegrass, that uptempo sound, that turned me around in country music.  Upon meeting Elvis  and heres the historical fact  Elvis said to me You like Mr. Bill Monroe?  I said I love Bill Monroe.  Elvis said Man, I do, too.  I said I knew you did.  I could tell it by the first record.  Rock and roll music is a derivative of rockabilly music; rockabilly music is Bill Monroe and the blues tied together.  Thats it.

When Carl Perkins career took off in 1956, he fulfilled his dream of guesting on the Grand Ole Opry and meeting his idols Bill Monroe and Acuff.  That same year, Perkins found himself touring with another dedicated, if unlikely, Bill Monroe fan  a black guitar player, singer and songwriter from Saint Louis named Chuck Berry.Berry knew every one of the blue yodel songs recorded by Jimmy Rodgers and most of Bill Monroes songs, too..

Buddy Holly had grown up in Lubbock, TX idolizing Edd Mayfield and his brothers and, as a result, their hero Bill Monroe.  Holly had a little bluegrass band around town before bursting onto the national scene with Peggy Suehis strumming, driving guitar solo was reminiscent of Bill Monroes mandolin work on Bluegrass  Breakdown.

The early rock and rollers and rockabillies  Presley, Holly, Perkins, Cash, and all the rest  adored MonroeHe played his mandolin like a rock guitar and he had attitude in abundanceEven when his influence wasnt direct, it was still pervasive: It can hardly be coincidence that the beat  and general groove of Bill Haleys Rock Around the Clock is so similar to Bill Monroes Rocky Road Blues.


And this, from the web (so it must be true!): http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wik...hp/Chuck_Berry
Among Chuck Berrys main influences are the classic Bluesmen, T. Bone Walker, Nat "King" Cole and Muddy Waters, along with country legends such as Jimmie Rodgers and bluegrass father Bill Monroe's. Chuck Berry is famous for his two-note chords, double stops , which he used in his intros and solos.

I also saw that Bill Haley, before rock, was a western swing musician.  Cool.

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## resophil

...and don't forget, Bill Monroe invented sliced bread, too!

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## Mike Bunting

> ...and don't forget, Bill Monroe invented sliced bread, too!


And I've been working for years trying slice it the way he did!

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## ralph johansson

> Bill Monroe's harmony singing had a profound influence on the Everly Brothers' singing.  The Everly Brothers harmony singing had a profound influence on the Beatles.  Not sure if the Beatles influenced anyone.


Is that what you hear or what you've been told? I hear no similarity at all between Monroe's approach and that of the Everlys. Like Mr. Hopkins I  believe they were mainly influenced by brother duos like the Delmores, the Blue Sky Boys and the Louvin Brothers.

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## ralph johansson

> “ “ Rock and roll music is a derivative of rockabilly music; rockabilly music is Bill Monroe and the blues tied together.  That’s it.”



Ah, yes, because the blues was *really* the missing ingredient in Monroe's music!

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## Rick Albertson

"Ed Perl, the founder of the Ash Grove on Melrose in West Los Angeles, the center of the the folk revival in L.A., recalls Alan [Lomax's] coming in the club while Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys were appearing. He walked straight up the stage, and after the second number he asked Monroe where he got the song he'd just played... Bill responded, 'Is that you Alan?' and they proceeded to talk about and demonstrate the influence of black music on Bill and bluegrass."

Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World; John Szwed

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## Mike Bunting

> Ah, yes, because the blues was *really* the missing ingredient in Monroe's music!


 :Smile:

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