Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys

Band · Active 1940–1996 · Rosine, Kentucky
Traditional Bluegrass

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.

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  • 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).
  • Bill Monroe
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Bessie Lee Mauldin
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Kenny Baker
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Howard “Cedric Rainwater” Watts
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Robert Russell “Chubby” Wise
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Rudy Lyle
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jimmy Martin
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Ernie Newton
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Earl Scruggs
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Joe Stuart
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Lester Flatt
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Edd Mayfield
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Gordon Terry
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Charlie Cline
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Benny Williams
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • James Monroe
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Culley Holt
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Dale Potter
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Grady Martin
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Joel Price
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Buddy Spicher
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Curtis McPeake
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Bill Wesbrooks
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Blake Williams
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Bobby Hicks
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Clarence “Tater” Tate
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Lamar Grier
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Lonnie Hoppers
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Peter Rowan
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Richard Greene
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Tom Ewing
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Billy Rose
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • David “Stringbean” Akeman
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Don Stover
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Frank Buchanan
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jack Cooke
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jackie Phelps
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Roger “Red” Taylor
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Tex Willis
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Tommy Jackson
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Vassar Clements
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Curley Bradshaw
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jimmy Maynard
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Leslie Sandy
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Sally Ann Forrester
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Tony Ellis
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Art Wooten
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Buddy Pennington
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Carl Butler
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Carter Stanley
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Clyde Moody
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Don Lineberger
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Hal Smith
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jimmy Elrod
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Mac Wiseman
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Pete Pyle
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Red Stanley
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Rual Yarbrough
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Sonny Osborne
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Tommy Magness
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Charles Smith
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jack Hicks
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jack Shook
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jack Thompson
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • James Bowers
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jim Selph
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jimmy Campbell
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Joe Drumright
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Joe Zinkan
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Red Hayes
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Ricky Skaggs
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Shorty Shehan
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Tommy Williams
    Played on recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Andrew Conklin
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Benny Martin
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Bill Holden
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Bill Yates
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Birch Monroe
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Bob Fowler
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Del McCoury
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Don Reno
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Douglas Kershaw
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Farris Coursey
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Freddy Gibson
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Guy Stevenson
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Hubert Davis
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jesse McReynolds
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jim Smoak
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Jimmy Selph
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Monroe Fields
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Owen Bradley
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Ralph Stanley
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Randy Davis
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  • Ray Edenton
    Played on recording with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys

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