Picture of bessie lee [Archive] - Mandolin Cafe Forum

tiltman

Oct-30-2006, 7:24pm

Hopefully some one can help me out here.
I'm a Veterinarian and I tend to give the little stray kitties that come through the clinic good bluegrass names (ie Carter, Ralph, Earl, Lester, unfortunately someone renamed Monroe "Sweetie Pie") before they go to their new homes.
Anyway, Bessie Lee will be coming in for an appointment later this week and I was wondering if someone could post a picture of her.
Thanks,
Kirk

Scott Tichenor

Oct-30-2006, 7:29pm

There she is on the left, The Carolina Songbird, Bessie Lee.

tiltman

Oct-30-2006, 7:46pm

That was Quick!!!
Thanks Scott,
Kirk

45ACP-GDLF5

Oct-30-2006, 7:53pm

Hey Scott,

Bill has his arm around who? Is that Bill's left you mean, or is that not Bessie lee? When did she pass away and how long was she and Bill married? Thanks!

allenhopkins

Oct-30-2006, 7:58pm

Bill has his arm around daughter Melissa; Bessie Lee is the blonde bass player. Although she and Monroe never married, he did have a child with her -- later the subject of a paternity suit.

Too bad we can't get one of Bessie Lee and Melissa "duking it out" outside the Opry in 1954-55...

Del looks a bit younger, doesn't he?

Bobbie Dier

Oct-30-2006, 8:05pm

Is that the first "Bluegrass Cruise"?

evanreilly

Oct-30-2006, 8:26pm

And Joe Stuart, I do believe, on Fiddle. And 'Brad'.

cooper4205

Oct-30-2006, 8:27pm

"Del looks a bit younger, doesn't he?"

his martin doesn't though, i wonder if he had good hair back then, too?

45ACP-GDLF5

Oct-30-2006, 8:52pm

Thanks Allen! I presume Melissa is not Bessie Lee's daughter? Is James Monroe Bessie Lee's son with Bill? Sorry for all the questions. I guess I figured Bill was married, I just have never known any details of his personal life. It is spooky how much James looks like his dad. When did Bessie Lee pass away and is Melissa still with us?

cooper4205

Oct-30-2006, 8:59pm

"I just have never known any details of his personal life."

you need to read "can't you hear me callin" monroe's bio, a must for any big mon fan

evanreilly

Oct-31-2006, 7:00am

James and Melissa are children from Bill's first wife, Carolyn Brown.
Melissa is deceased; James is, well.....

SternART

Oct-31-2006, 12:06pm

The bio books are a good read....but be prepared.... as ol' Bill, well lets just say he liked women.

testore

Oct-31-2006, 1:58pm

It would be great if anyone could find the daughter they had. As I understand she has never been located. She must only be in her 60's.

cooper4205

Oct-31-2006, 2:08pm

The bio books are a good read....but be prepared.... as ol' Bill, well lets just say he liked women.
you could definately call him a Cat-Daddy

Spruce

Oct-31-2006, 2:47pm

Here's (http://www.cookephoto.com/bluegrassboys.html) another...

jim simpson

Oct-31-2006, 4:08pm

"Too bad we can't get one of Bessie Lee and Melissa "duking it out" outside the Opry in 1954-55..." - allen hopkins

I believe the following picture was taken the night after that fight:

f5loar

Oct-31-2006, 9:57pm

Out of respect for his wife Carolyn, Bill never let Bessie play at the Opry using Opry staff bass players when he played there live during the Bessie Lee on bass years. He did fear a cat fight backstage. However being a band member she did record with Bill, travel on the bus(or in those days,car)with Bill and signed autographs and allowed photos like this one to be taken. Their illegitement daughter(Georiga Rose) has long been known and is alive and kickin' in the North Carolina area(where Bessie Lee was from). Bill liked his women rather "porky" too!

evanreilly

Nov-02-2006, 7:27am

I believe there was a fairly recent airing of a show on Campbell Mercer's 'Cumberland Highlanders' where both of James' and Melissa's half-sister and - brother came forward. Or was it at the Rosine festival? I wasn't there, but seem to remember the teevee show.

evanreilly

Nov-02-2006, 7:36am

Here is another picture of Bessie Lee and the BGB.
Bobby Hicks and Vassar on fiddles, I beleive, or Gordon Terry.

bgmando

Nov-02-2006, 4:30pm

Now that's a fine picture.

By the way, who is on banjo and guitar in this pic?

f5loar

Nov-02-2006, 6:55pm

That's Gordon Terry with Bobby Hicks on fiddles and looks like Bill Price on guitar and Noah Crase on banjo so that puts this photo between 1954 and 1956. I reserve the right to be corrected on this one!

evanreilly

Nov-02-2006, 8:39pm

I'll check with Bobby Hicks; he told me once who the other BGB were, but I disremembers....

f5loar

Nov-02-2006, 11:36pm

You'll have to show him that photo. Hicks went through many changing of the instruments and Hicks was on banjo and bass too.

f5loar

Nov-02-2006, 11:40pm

You'll have to show him that photo. Hicks went through many changing of the instruments and Hicks was on banjo and bass too. The 50's were very unstable for bluegrass boys especially after '56 when Elvis was hot. The banjo picker could be Jim Smoak. His glasses are throwing me!

Fretbear

Nov-02-2006, 11:47pm

Nice shoes....

evanreilly

Nov-03-2006, 8:46am

Bobby Hicks playing banjo as a BGB.

f5loar

Nov-03-2006, 9:42am

With Jackie Phelps on guitar and Ernie Newton from the Opry staff band on bass. Bill didn't like Bessie around the Opry shows in Nashville area out of respect for his wife Carolyn so he used the Opry band guys or pick-ups like Newton or Harold Lowry or Jim Elrod in the mid-50's.
These were from the Gannon Opry Shows from 1954 on this one.

Paul Kotapish

Nov-03-2006, 11:24am

Do any of you have photos of Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (and Girl) from the years when he had Wilene "Sally Ann" Forrester playing accordion in the band? I think it was mostly during the WWII period. Our discussion about mandolin and accordion in the musette thread reminded me of this quirky period of the band's history. A lot of folks shudder at Bill's brief inclusion of the dreaded "stomach Steinway," but I think it was kind of an interesting experiment. I found this image, but I know there was at least one promo shot where they were all holding their instruments and you could see the accordion.

http://doodah.net/bgb/bgb44.jpg

f5loar

Nov-03-2006, 12:34pm

Just yesterday I was listening to Monroe Live in Germany 1975 CD and at the end of his show some local Germans jumped up on stage to pick with Monroe and one of them had an accordian. He pumped right along with a string of Monroe hits bringing back those memories of the beginning sounds of bluegrass. I wonder if ever thought he should have kept Sally Ann! Probably by the time Bessie Lee came along on bass in the band even Big Mon knew there were no room for two female bluegrass boys cause that ain't no part of nothing.

evanreilly

Nov-03-2006, 9:39pm

Paul Kotapish

Nov-03-2006, 11:07pm

That's the one. Thanks.

cooper4205

Nov-03-2006, 11:23pm

do any of you guys have any picks with tater tate during his short run in the 50's (i think it was '55 or '56)?

he's a cool guy and is nice and laid back as can be, teaches fiddle here in johnson city. i get to talk to him once or twice a week and i always ask him to tell me a little something about his BG Boys days.

evanreilly

Nov-04-2006, 4:32am

Clarence 'Tater' Tate didn't have a short run as a BGB; he played fiddle and bass both over an extended period of time, but not in the mid '50s. He played with the BGB thru the '80s and later.

Peter Hackman

Nov-04-2006, 4:48am

cooper4205

Nov-04-2006, 6:48am

"Clarence 'Tater' Tate didn't have a short run as a BGB; he played fiddle and bass both over an extended period of time, but not in the mid '50s. He played with the BGB thru the '80s and later."

i know about that later part (84-95?), but i have not seen much on his time during the 50's (i think one year)

evanreilly

Nov-04-2006, 7:24am

Here is a link to Stewart Evans' Blue Grass Boys (http://doodah.net/bgb/ClarenceTaterTate.html) website and Tater's page.

f5loar

Nov-04-2006, 7:50am

That photo does not show Howdy on fiddle but a young Jim Shumate from North Carolina. Jim was with Monroe a short time and later with Flatt&Scruggs in one of their first lineups. He's still fiddling today.

Slim Pickins

Nov-07-2006, 5:39am

The Stonemen family. Scotty is the tall guy, a great fiddle player. Donna Stoneman on the far right. I also have a pic of me with Roni Stoneman and her Mastertone if you want me to send it.

Michael Gowell

Nov-07-2006, 11:01am

Speaking of Donna Stoneman... a link on another site - maybe that new 'acousticfriends.com' site sponsored by WDVX-FM (great online country/oldtime/bluegrass radio for those who haven't found it yet) led me to a 'YouTube' clip of Donna playing wild electric mando. I mean WILD. Think Jimi Hendrix. #Truly astounding. #Apparently from a (1960's?) B movie about Nashville musicians in Hollywood. #Donna's clip was labeled "Surf Bluegrass". #I just Googled to make a link to it but YouTube says it's been removed, even though I saw it just 4 or 5 days ago. #Does anyone know where else this clip might be, or the name of the movie from which it comes?

JEStanek

Nov-07-2006, 11:10am

There was a thread on this a while back but the movie it is from (as I learned in that thread and added to my Amazon Wishlist) is Road to Nashville (link to Amazon) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004YA6L/ref=wl_it_dp/102-4245845-7438565?ie=UTF8&coliid=I20D32T8OE4X4Z&colid=4UL6J5PPOCVN) They have it on DVD for $8.00 new. NFI for me.

Jamie

Spruce

Nov-07-2006, 11:21am

"Does anyone know where else this clip might be, or the name of the movie from which it comes?"

Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj4I9OyaR2U) ya go....

f5loar

Nov-07-2006, 3:47pm

Many don't realize the tune she is playing but it is a loose interpetation of Monroe's Bluegrass Stomp in D or at least that's how it starts out. Classic clip from an even classier movie.

TommyK

Nov-08-2006, 10:38am

...Bill liked his women rather "porky" too!
Who you callin' 'Porky?' http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif
That's Full Figgered! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

TommyK

Nov-08-2006, 10:44am

Here is the picture of Wilene and the boys!
I think it is:
Rear: Flatt, Howdy Forrester, Wilene Forrester.
Front: Akeman, Bill, Birch.
I think the year is 1945 and Bill has his 'new' mandolin, #73987, which he initially played using a string around the peghead for a #strap, as he had done on the F-7.
'Strang Bean' Akeman, "Right next to my heart... heart.. heart..." Broke me up every time. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif Made me fall outta my three legged stool a laughin'

Slim Pickins

Nov-08-2006, 4:11pm

"Lord, Ah feel so unnecessary"

Stringbean Akeman

evanreilly

Nov-08-2006, 8:39pm

"Ain't no money to be made playing the banjo above the 5th fret." - Beans.

Bobbie Dier

Nov-09-2006, 4:35am

When did Leslie Sandy play with the Bluegrass Boys? How long did he play with them?

danb

Nov-09-2006, 5:17am

Thile quoted Earl Scruggs at a gig saying "ain't never been an A string that went to heaven" during some tuning problems

evanreilly

Nov-09-2006, 5:56am

Sandy, Leslie bass, guitar 1953-1954, 1957

From Stewart Evans' site on the Blue Grass Boys (http://doodah.net/bgb/).

ricardo

Nov-09-2006, 7:58am

"Billiejoe jumped off the Tallahachie bridge"(Stringbean comment said while pick'n) - RIP String! - thank you for the wonderful entertainment. ricardo. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif