Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys are the band that gave bluegrass music its name. Founded in 1938 and led by mandolinist Bill Monroe for nearly six decades, the group defined the genre's sound and served as the proving ground for generations of its most important musicians.
- Formed in 1938 by Bill Monroe after the breakup of his duo with brother Charlie; named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky.
- Joined the Grand Ole Opry in October 1939 and remained Opry members until Monroe's death in 1996.
- The 1945–1948 lineup — Monroe on mandolin, Lester Flatt on guitar, Earl Scruggs on banjo, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard "Cedric Rainwater" Watts on bass — is widely regarded as the "Original Bluegrass Band," the group whose recordings for Columbia established the classic five-piece bluegrass sound.
- After Flatt and Scruggs departed in 1948 to form the Foggy Mountain Boys, Monroe signed with Decca Records and entered what many consider his golden era, cutting classics like "Uncle Pen," "On and On," "My Little Georgia Rose," and instrumentals "Raw Hide" and "Roanoke."
- Over 58 years the band included more than 150 musicians — a who's who of bluegrass royalty, including Jimmy Martin, Carter Stanley, Sonny Osborne, Mac Wiseman, Vassar Clements, Kenny Baker, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, Byron Berline, Bill Keith, and Roland White.
- Monroe's 1923 Gibson F-5 "Lloyd Loar" mandolin, acquired in the mid-1940s, became one of the most iconic instruments in American music.
- Helped spark the bluegrass festival movement by hosting the Bean Blossom festival in Indiana starting in 1967, one of the longest-running bluegrass festivals in the world.
- Continued performing until shortly before Monroe's death in September 1996 at age 84; the Blue Grass Boys' final lineup included guitarist Tom Ewing, banjoist Dana Cupp, and fiddler Robert Bowlin.
- Bill Monroe was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1970), the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1971), the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame (1991), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1997).
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Live from Mountain Stage1999 · Blue Plate Music BPM 400
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Live Recordings 1956-1969: Off the Record Vol. 11993 · Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40063
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Cryin’ Holy Unto the Lord1991 · MCA MCAD 10017
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Live at the Opry1989 · MCA 076742228620
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Southern Flavor1988 · MCA MCA 42133
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Mr. Bluegrass1987 · MCA MCA 82
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Bill Monroe Sings Bluegrass, Body and Soul1977 · MCA MCA 2251
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Bluegrass Special Vol. 31976 · Blue Grass Special BS 3
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Road of Life1974 · MCA MCA 426
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Bean Blossom1973 · MCA MCA2 8002
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Kentucky Blue Grass1970 · Decca DL 75213
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Kentucky Bluegrass1970 · Decca DL 75213
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Single (Walk Softly on My Heart / McKinley’s March)1970 · Decca 32654
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Single (Fireball Mail / With Body and Soul)1969 · Decca 7 32574
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Bluegrass Time1967 · Decca DL 4896
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Bill Monroe live 19641964 · Rockbeat ROC-CD 3276
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Bill Monroe Sings Country Songs with the Bluegrass Boys1964 · Vocalion VL 3702
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I’ll Meet You in Church Sunday Morning1964 · Decca ED 2792
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Single (Old, Old House / I Live in the Past)1964 · Decca 31878
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Single (Salt Creek / Darling Corey)1964 · Decca 31596
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Bluegrass Special1963 · Decca DL 74382
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Bluegrass Ramble1962 · MCA MCA 88
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Single (Gotta Travel on / No One but My Darlin’)1959 · Brunswick 45 05776
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Single (Lonesome Wind Blues / Come Go with Me)1959 · Decca 9 31031
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Single (Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone / Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day)1959 · Decca 9 30944
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I Saw the Light1958 · Decca DL 8769
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Knee Deep in Bluegrass1958 · MCA VIM 5527
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Single (Life’s Railway to Heaven)1958 · Decca ED 2610
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Single (On and on / I Believed in You Darling)1956 · Decca 9 29886
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Single (You’ll Find Her Name Written There / Sitting Alone in the Moonlight)1956 · Decca 9 30178
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Single (Blue Moon of Kentucky / Blue Grass Special)1954 · Columbia 4 52022
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Single (Changing Partners / Y’all Come)1954 · Decca 9 29021
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Single (Get Up John / Whitehouse Blues)1954 · Decca 9 29141
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Single (Wishing Waltz / I Hope You Have Learned)1954 · Decca 9 29009
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Single (Cabin of Love / Country Waltz)1953 · Decca 28749
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Single (Memories of Mother and Dad / The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake)1953 · Decca 9 28878
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Single (Walking in Jerusalem Just Like John / You’re Drifting Away)1953 · Decca 9 28608
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Single (Kentucky Waltz / The Prisoner’s Song)1952 · Decca DE 19
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Single (Letter from My Darlin’ / Raw Hide)1952 · Decca 9 46392
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Single (On My Way to the Old Home / First Whippoorwill)1952 · Decca 9 28045
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Single (You’re Drifting Away / Walking in Jerusalem Just Like John)1952 · Decca 9 28608
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Single (Brakeman’s Blues / Travelin’ Blues)1951 · Decca 9 46380
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Single (Christmas Time’s A-Coming / The First Whippoorwill)1951 · Decca 9 46386
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Single (Get Down on Your Knees and Pray / I’ll Meet You in Church Sunday Morning)1951 · Decca 9 46351
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Single (Highway of Sorrow / Sugar Coated Love)1951 · Decca 9 46369
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Single (On the Old Kentucky Shore / Poison Love)1951 · Decca 46298
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Single (Swing Low Sweet Chariot / Angels Rock Me to Sleep)1951 · Decca 46325
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Single (I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome / Boat of Love)1950 · Decca 9 46254
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Single (Lord Protect My Soul / River of Death)1950 · Decca 9 46305
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Single (New Mule Skinner Blues / My Little Georgia Rose)1950 · Decca 9 46222
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Single (When the Golden Leaves Begin to Fall / Uncle Pen)1950 · Decca 9 46283
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Single (Blue Grass Breakdown / Toy Heart)1949 · Columbia 20552
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Single (Heavy Traffic Ahead / Along About Daybreak)1949 · Columbia 20595
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Single (I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling / Little Cabin Home on the Hill)1948 · Columbia 20459
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Single (My Rose of Old Kentucky / Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong)1948 · Columbia 20423
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Single (Tenbrooks and Molly / Will You Be Loving Another Man)1948 · Bluegrass Classics BGC 80
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Single (When You Are Lonely / It’s Mighty Dark to Travel)1948 · Columbia 20526
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Single (Wicked Path of Sin / Summertime Is Past and Gone)1948 · Columbia 20503
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Single (Blue Moon of Kentucky / Blue Grass Special)1947 · Columbia 4 52022
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Single (Blue Moon of Kentucky / Goodbye Old Pal)1947 · Columbia 20370
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Single (Blue Yodel #4 / Will You Be Loving Another Man)1947 · Columbia 37565
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Single (Mansions for Me / Mother’s Only Sleeping)1947 · Columbia 20107
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Single (Rocky Road Blues / Kentucky Waltz)1946 · Columbia 4 20013
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Single (True Life Blues / Footprints in the Snow)1946 · Columbia 20080
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Single (Shake My Mother’s Hand for Me / Were You There?)1942 · Bluebird B 8953
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Single (The Coupon Song / Orange Blossom Special)1942 · Bluebird B 8893
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Single (Blue Yodel # 7 / In the Pines)1941 · Bluebird B 8861
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Bill MonroePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Bessie Lee MauldinPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Kenny BakerPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Howard “Cedric Rainwater” WattsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Robert Russell “Chubby” WisePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Rudy LylePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jimmy MartinPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Ernie NewtonPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Earl ScruggsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Joe StuartPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Lester FlattPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Edd MayfieldPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Gordon TerryPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Charlie ClinePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Benny WilliamsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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James MonroePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Culley HoltPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Dale PotterPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Grady MartinPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Joel PricePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Buddy SpicherPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Curtis McPeakePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Bill WesbrooksPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Blake WilliamsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Bobby HicksPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Clarence “Tater” TatePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Lamar GrierPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Lonnie HoppersPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Peter RowanPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Richard GreenePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Tom EwingPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Billy RosePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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David “Stringbean” AkemanPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Don StoverPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Frank BuchananPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jack CookePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jackie PhelpsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Roger “Red” TaylorPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Tex WillisPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Tommy JacksonPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Vassar ClementsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Curley BradshawPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jimmy MaynardPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Leslie SandyPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Sally Ann ForresterPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Tony EllisPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Art WootenPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Buddy PenningtonPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Carl ButlerPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Carter StanleyPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Clyde MoodyPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Don LinebergerPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Hal SmithPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jimmy ElrodPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Mac WisemanPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Pete PylePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Red StanleyPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Rual YarbroughPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Sonny OsbornePlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Tommy MagnessPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Charles SmithPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jack HicksPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jack ShookPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jack ThompsonPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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James BowersPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jim SelphPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jimmy CampbellPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Joe DrumrightPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Joe ZinkanPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Red HayesPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Ricky SkaggsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Shorty ShehanPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Tommy WilliamsPlayed on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Andrew ConklinPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Benny MartinPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Bill HoldenPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Bill YatesPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Birch MonroePlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Bob FowlerPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Del McCouryPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Don RenoPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Douglas KershawPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Farris CourseyPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Freddy GibsonPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Guy StevensonPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Hubert DavisPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jesse McReynoldsPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jim SmoakPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Jimmy SelphPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Monroe FieldsPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Owen BradleyPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Ralph StanleyPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Randy DavisPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
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Ray EdentonPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys