“Bluegrass Breakdown” was written by Bill Monroe, the founder of bluegrass. He recorded it with his Blue Grass Boys in the late 1940s, in the years when the band that included Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs was setting the pattern for the music.
A fast, hard-driving instrumental, “Bluegrass Breakdown” is built around the banjo and the trading of breaks, and it shows the breakneck tempo and instrumental attack that defined Monroe’s sound. It is one of the cornerstone instrumentals of early bluegrass.
The tune remains a standard for bands testing their speed and tightness.
Assisted by AI.
Spot something off? Help us fix it.
