Bill monroe instrumentals

[jhbaylor]

I am trying to put together a list of Monroe Instrumentals, here is what I have so far, A to Z. Please contribute more if you can. I imagine you guys can make this list grow...

EDITED WITH ADDITIONAL TUNES................

Ashland Breakdown
Big Mon
Big Sandy River
Bill's Blues
Bill's Dream
Blue Goose
Bluegrass Breakdown
Bluegrass Ramble
Bluegrass Special
Bluegrass Stomp
Bluegrass Twist/ Bluegrass Part One
Brown County Breakdown
Charleston #1
Cheyenne
Chilly Winds of Shannon
Crossing the Cumberland
Dancin in Branson
Dusty Miller
East Tennessee Blues
Evening Prayer Blues
Fair Play
Frog On A Lilly Pad
Galley Nipper
Get Up John
Go (Come) Hither To Go Yonder
Gold Rush
Golden West, The
Heel and Toe Polka
Honky Tonk Swing
I'd Like to be Over Yonder
Jack Across the Way
Jekyll Island
Jenny Lynn
Jerusalem Ridge
Kentucky Mandolin
Kiss Me Waltz
Lady Of The Blue Ridge
Land of Lincoln
Lee Wedding Tune
Lloyd Loar, The
Lockwood
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
Long Bow, the
Louisville Breakdown
McKinley's March
Melissa's Waltz for J.B
Midnight In Rosine
Milenburg Joy
Mississippi Waltz
Monroe's Blues
Monroe's Farewell to Longholow
Monroe's Hornpipe
My Father's Footsteps
My Last Days On Earth
Never Leave the A string
Northern White Cloud(s)
Old Brown County Barn
Old Daingerfield
Old Ebeneezer Scrooge
Old Gray Mare Came Tearing out of the Wilderness
Old Mountaineer, The
Old Tennessee River
Paddy on the Turnpike
Panhandle Country
Pike County Breakdown
Pilgrim's Knob
Playing for the Old Folks
Pocahontas
Poor White Folks
Raw Hide
Reelfoot Reel
Right, Right On
Road To Columbus
Roanoke
Roxanna Waltz
Salt Creek
Salt River
Scotland
Shenandoah Breakdown
Slow And Easy Blues
Smoky Mountain Schottische
Southern Flavor
Stone Coal
Stoney Lonesome
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Tall Timber
Tallahassee
Tanyards
Tennessee Blues
Texas Blue-Bonnet
Texas Gallop
The Dead March
Tokyo Moonlight Waltz
Tombstone Junction
Trombolin
Up in Front, Out in the Back
Virginia Darlin'
Watson's Blues
Wheel Hoss
Wolf Trap Blues

[jim_n_virginia]

Man you got every one that I know of listed ... and THEN some!

I didn't even know Gold Rush was a Monroe tune. I thought it belonged to O'Conner or one of them other fiddlers.

I only know 7 of those instrumentals. Wonder if there is someone who know's then ALL, THAT would be cool! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Perry]

here's a few off the top of my head

Dancin in Branson
Land of Lincoln
Never Leave the A string
Monroe's Blues

look at the Bear Family Box Set descriptions on Amazon; they clearly mark tunes as instrumentals; that will be a good start to cross check what you got so far....

[cooper4205]

Ashland Breakdown
Big Mon
Big Sandy River
Bill's Blues
Bluegrass Breakdown
Bluegrass Ramble
Bluegrass Special
Bluegrass Stomp
Bluegrass Twist/ Bluegrass Part One
Brown County Breakdown
Charleston
Chilly Winds of Shannon
Cheyenne
Crossing the Cumberland
Dusty Miller
East Tennessee Blues
Evening Prayer Blues
Frog On A Lilly Pad
Galley Nipper
Get Up John
Go (Come) Hither To Go Yonder
Gold Rush
Golden West, The
Honky Tonk Swing
I'd Like to be Over Yonder
Jack Across the Way
Jenny Lynn
Jerusalem Ridge
Kentucky Mandolin
Land of Lincoln
Lee Wedding Tune
Lloyd Loar, The
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
Midnight In Rosine
Mississippi Waltz
Monroe's Hornpipe
My Father's Footsteps
My Last Days On Earth
Northern White Cloud(s)
Old Brown County Barn
Old Daingerfield
Old Ebeneezer Scrooge
Old Mountaineer, The
Old Tennessee River
Panhandle Country
Pocahontas
Pike County Breakdown
Playing for the Old Folks
Raw Hide
Reelfoot Reel
Right, Right On
Road To Columbus
Roanoke
Scotland
Slow And Easy Blues
Smoky Mountain Schottische
Southern Flavor
Stone Coal
Stoney Lonesome
Tall Timber
Tanyards
Tennessee Blues
The Dead March
Tombstone Junction
Trombolin
Up in Front, Out in the Back
Virginia Darlin'
Wheel Hoss

[Peter Hackman]

Man you got every one that I know of listed ... and THEN some!

I didn't even know Gold Rush was a Monroe tune. I thought it belonged to O'Conner or one of them other fiddlers.

I only know 7 of those instrumentals. Wonder if there is someone who know's then ALL, THAT would be cool! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Gold Rush was an idea of Monroe's that Byron Berline helped complete, basically turning a sketch into a genuine fiddle tune. Berline also contributed the out-chorus.

Seems Watson Blues is missing from the list.

[jhbaylor]

I know you guys would come through...those are ones I never even heard of.

[sgarrity]

Man, you're fast! You got all of the others I was thinking about.
There are a few on the list that aren't necessarily Monroe originals. Jenny Lynn, Dusty Miller are old-time fiddle tunes. But Monroe certainly put his mark on them!

[Spruce]

Don't forget Melissa's Waltz for J.B., Fair Play, Lochwood, and Lady Of The Blue Ridge....

[Peter Hackman]

and Lady Of The Blue Ridge....
you mean Jolie Blon de la Crete Bleue (referring to the mangled version, of course)

By the way, Big Sandy is either a Kenny Baker tune or traditional.

[sgarrity]

How 'bout:

Monroe's Farewell to Longholow

[jhbaylor]

Is that Smokey Mountain Schotische (spelling) a Monroe tune? I know he plays it on the DVD. Didn't know if he wrote it or not.

[sgarrity]

I don't think he "wrote" that one either. Probably heard it from an old fiddler when he was growing up. Evan....Tom....where are ya?

[cooper4205]

Perry's post got me thinking about a few more (ones he wrote, or made his so to speak, but for the most part are not well known)

Bill's Dream
Blue Goose
Evenin' Prayer Blues
Heel and Toe Polka
Jekyll Island
Kiss Me Waltz
Long Bow, the
Milenburg Joy
Old Gray Mare Came Tearing out of the Wilderness
Poor White Folks
Roxanna Waltz
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Tallahassee
Texas Gallop (or Quickstep)
Texas Blue-Bonnet

[cooper4205]

I don't think he "wrote" that one either. Probably heard it from an old fiddler when he was growing up. Evan....Tom....where are ya?
that pretty much what I've heard, from talking to Evan and reading. I just listed it because he's the main one it's associated with (there are a few on my lists like that)

[fwoompf]

You know what would be an amazing weekly-or-so feature on the cafe? If some enterprising mando player recorded and broke down each song over a period of a year or something. I definitely don't know what most of those even sound like...there really should be a repository of this stuff!

[Mike Bunting]

Pilgrim's Knob

[AlanN]

Bill Monroe tunes?

Easy Listening?

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[MandoBen]

I didn't see these on the list, but maybe they have alternate titles and/or lyrics, but they are listed as Monroe originals on one of my CD's:
Louisville Breakdown
Tallahassee
Shenandoah Breakdown

[sgarrity]

Come to the SE Comando Gathering in May and you'll get a good dose of most of these tunes. Last year it was Evan, Tom, Red Henry and a few others tearing up the Monroe tunes. I wish I'd had a recorder going.....

[jhbaylor]

Tom and Evan did a heck of a job of them last weekend with Brian Aldridge at Bluegrass First Class.

They need to get a look at this and give a sign off on this thing...

[cooper4205]

Come to the SE Comando Gathering in May and you'll get a good dose of most of these tunes. Last year it was Evan, Tom, Red Henry and a few others tearing up the Monroe tunes. I wish I'd had a recorder going.....
I'm coming this year, wife be damned! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[John Kasley]

"Come hither to go yonder" seems to be missing.

[sgarrity]

Does she read this board?? LOL Luckily, I don't have to worry too much about that...

[Spruce]

""Come hither to go yonder" seems to be missing. "

Nah, it's on there under "Go", which was the typo on the original LP....

[evanreilly]

Smoky Mountain Schottische:
Here is my account of this tune, which Monroe rarely played.
When Monroe was a child, there was a youngster the same age as Monroe living on the farm adjacent to the Monroe place. This was 'Tex' Atcheson.
Atcheson grew up and began to play with the Prairie Ramblers.
They recorded SMS in 1936, with Atcheson playing the lead on the fiddle.
There are significant differences between the versions as played by Monroe and the one recorded by the Ramblers.
Monroe's version has three parts, switching from the key of D on the third part to the key of G. The Ramblers' version only has the first two parts, both in D.
Monroe's is a much more notey and staid version; the Ramblers' is a wilder version.
So, I am of the strong opinion that both young men heard the tune while living on their respective farms in Rosine. Maybe Uncle Pen had heard it in his travels and taught it to the boys.
I have spent some time working on that tune, as it is the type of tune that Monroe sought very hard to preserve and pass on.
A few others have recorded it; Butch Waller and Skip Gorman come to mind.

[Wolfboy]

[quote=Spruce,Feb. 26 2008, 15:20]By the way, Big Sandy is either a Kenny Baker tune or traditional.
The "Baker Plays Monroe" CD credits it to Monroe and Baker. It appears to be the only co-write on that album. (BTW, the list is missing "Fiddler's Pastime" from the same album.)

[maj34]

Tokyo Moonlight Waltz. #I'm not sure this one was ever recorded, though. #A local banjo player played with Monroe in the '70s, and he still plays this tune.

[evanreilly]

Bill's take on Charleston was Charleston #1, if my feeble memory serves me well.
And, ahem, John Baylor acquitted himself well last weekend playing the Tunes of WSM with Tom and myself.
Tom had his list already written out and we covered a large portion of them.

[lespaul_79]

I think Salt Creek is also a Bill Monroe tune. Too cool...
Chad

[MandolinManic]

Watson's Blues.

[Markelberry]

Smoky Mountain Schottische:
Here is my account of this tune, which Monroe rarely played.
When Monroe was a child, there was a youngster the same age as Monroe living on the farm adjacent to the Monroe place. This was 'Tex' Atcheson.
Atcheson grew up and began to play with the Prairie Ramblers.
They recorded SMS in 1936, with Atcheson playing the lead on the fiddle.
There are significant differences between the versions as played by Monroe and the one recorded by the Ramblers.
Monroe's version has three parts, switching from the key of D on the third part to the key of G. The Ramblers' version only has the first two parts, both in D.
Monroe's is a much more notey and staid version; the Ramblers' is a wilder version.
So, I am of the strong opinion that both young men heard the tune while living on their respective farms in Rosine. Maybe Uncle Pen had heard it in his travels and taught it to the boys.
I have spent some time working on that tune, as it is the type of tune that Monroe sought very hard to preserve and pass on.
A few others have recorded it; Butch Waller and Skip Gorman come to mind.
very cool song, I learned it like Bill plays it on the video set. The story you told is great Evan!
thanks Mark

[cooper4205]

I think Salt Creek is also a Bill Monroe tune. Too cool...
Chad
from what I gather Monroe got it from Bill Keith, who got it from Don Stover. Stover called it Salt River, and recorded it with the Lilly Brothers.

This is from an interview with Stover posted on banjonews.com (http://www.banjonews.com/BNlhtml/Don%20Stover.html)

Interviewer -- You originally learned to play clawhammer banjo from your Mom and Dad. Can you remember some of the tunes that they played?

Stover: "Muskrat goin' through the sand, draggin' his long tail, Sally Ann." And oh, "Cripple Creek," Rovin' Gambler." My Daddy used to sing and play that all the time, and make us kids dance while he did it. "Salt River" was one. I introduced that one to Billy Keith, and he introduced it to Bill Monroe, and they recorded and called it Salt Creek. But we always called it Salt River, and there was some words also to the song. My mother used to sing, "Who's been here since I been gone, pretty little girl with a red dress on."

[f5loar]

Going by the 2nd list which had some added I see missing:
Salt Creek
Smokey Mountain S.
Bill's Dream
Texas Gallop
Blue Goose
Texas Blue Bonnet
McKinley's March
Poor White Folks
Never Leave the A String
Lockwood
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Paddy on the Turnpike
Watson's Blues

We did this once before a year or so ago. I'm sure there are more in the real obscure never recorded category.

[Cullowheekid]

Easy listening for the soul.E

[floyd26]

santa claus

[Denny Gies]

Did I miss "Come Hither To Go Yonder"?

[evanreilly]

Then there is "Beautiful Julia La Bella". As they surface in the grey matter, I'll post them.

[evanreilly]

Wolf Trap Blues.

[evanreilly]

The Old Mountaineer

[jhbaylor]

Alright Evan, I will wait to compile if you keep thinking of more...keep 'em coming.

[Red Henry]

This reminds me of a story David McLaughlin told. The JMBs were playing at a festival and Bill was there, and David liked to hang around with him backstage. David said, "Bill, I have this new tune I'd like to play for you." So David played the tune, and Bill said, "What's the name of that?" David replied, "I call it 'Old Monroe.'"

A couple of years later, Bill and David were playing backstage again. Bill said, "I've just wrote this tune, and I want you to hear it." Bill proceeded to play that same tune that David had shown him, note-for-note, all the way through.

David sat there, and didn't know what to say. How do you tell Bill Monroe that he's stolen your tune?

Bill said, "You know what I call that?" David said, "No, what?"

Bill said, "I call it 'Old McLaughlin.'"



Red

[Spruce]

That story sure makes me feel better about a CD I recently recorded... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Skip Kelley]

Where can I listen to Wolf trap blues? I have never heard of it!

[red7flag]

Pretty sure Big Sandy River, Salt Creek are traditional fiddle tunes. Shenendoah breakdown was written by and earlier banjo player, and was played over the phone by that player(whose name escapes me) to Bill Keith who then worked up a version.
Tony

[mandolirius]

<Pretty sure Big Sandy River, Salt Creek are traditional fiddle tunes.>

Salt Creek aka Salt River is for sure.

<That story sure makes me feel better about a CD I recently recorded...>

Bruce, see the thread called "Shocked" started by KenC.

[Mandolusional]

Strawberry Point I think, not sure when or where Bill Monroe recorded it but Special Consensus has it on one of their albums.

[evanreilly]

Trail of Tears

[evanreilly]

The Black Tulip of Holland

[Peter Hackman]

A minor correction to the list: the title of Monroe's banjo tune is
Crossing the Cumberlands, the mountain range, not the river.

[Peter Hackman]

Going by the 2nd list which had some added I see missing:
Salt Creek
Smokey Mountain S.
Bill's Dream
Texas Gallop
Blue Goose
Texas Blue Bonnet
McKinley's March
Poor White Folks
Never Leave the A String
Lockwood
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Paddy on the Turnpike
Watson's Blues

We did this once before a year or so ago. I'm sure there are more in the real obscure never recorded category.
Salt Creek is traditional. First time I saw it in print, as Salt River, was in a book by Richard Chase in the late 50's. Keith brought it to the group.

Texas Gallop is also traditional, known under several titles. I'm pretty sure Blue Goose and Poor White Folks are, too. And, well, Paddy on the Turnpike.

[AlanN]

It's 'Lochwood'

And where is Never Leave The A string recorded?

[Peter Hackman]

[quote=Spruce,Feb. 26 2008, 15:20]By the way, Big Sandy is either a Kenny Baker tune or traditional.
The "Baker Plays Monroe" CD credits it to Monroe and Baker. It appears to be the only co-write on that album. (BTW, the list is missing "Fiddler's Pastime" from the same album.)
I know two accounts of this, Wolfe-Rosenberg (traditional) and liner notes to
Amrican Traveler (Baker composition). According to both Monroe simply put his name next to Baker's without really contributing at all. He also claimed co-authorship to Baker's Breakdown.

[Perry]

And where is Never Leave The A string recorded?

I have it on the last Bear Family set that came out; "My Last Days on Earth" I think it was recorded as some type of promo radio show with Marty Stuart though on "Never Leave" it's just Bill Monroe.

Also if I'm not mistaken John Hartford asks about the tune on the first Homespun Tape and I think WSM play a bit for him.

[Gary Hedrick]

I always assumed that the name change on Salt River to Salt Creek was a naming exersize of change for change sake and that Mr. Monroe crossed over Salt Creek several times to get to Bean Blossom from Nashville TN.........the two forks of that creek are in Brown County.....

[Peter Hackman]

Perry's post got me thinking about a few more (ones he wrote, or made his so to speak, but for the most part are not well known)

Bill's Dream
Blue Goose
Evenin' Prayer Blues
Heel and Toe Polka
Jekyll Island
Kiss Me Waltz
Long Bow, the
Milenburg Joy
Old Gray Mare Came Tearing out of the Wilderness
Poor White Folks
Roxanna Waltz
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Tallahassee
Texas Gallop (or Quickstep)
Texas Blue-Bonnet
Heel and Toe is traditional.

So is Old Gray Mare. It was recorded by i.a. Milton Brown in the 30's.
The Old Gray Mare was quite well-traveled, and also came trotting along the boulevard.

Milenburg Joy derives from a popular song associated with Jelly Roll Morton and others. Leon Cappelear recorded a version similar to Monroe's. According to Wolfe-Rosenberg Monroe learned it from the Hoosier Hotshots. Milenburg Joys was a dance hall in New Orleans.

[cooper4205]

So is Old Gray Mare. It was recorded by i.a. Milton Brown in the 30's.
The Old Gray Mare was quite well-traveled, and also came trotting along the boulevard.

Milenburg Joy derives from a popular song associated with Jelly Roll Morton and others. Leon Cappelear recorded a version similar to Monroe's. According to Wolfe-Rosenberg Monroe learned it from the Hoosier Hotshots. Milenburg Joys was a dance hall in New Orleans.
I know he didn't write those, or Poor White Folks or Evening Prayer Blues but I listed them because he is associated with them as far as a bluegrass mandolin context goes (check the disclaimer at the top of the post), and many times was the first or only one to put them on wax (again in a bluegrass). Right or wrong, I kind of identify those as Monroe tunes by association.

[AlanN]

Perry,

I don't have those. Can you describe how the tune goes? Open string tremble? 1,4,5 thing?

[Perry]

I don't have those. Can you describe how the tune goes? Open string tremble? 1,4,5 thing?

Never leave the A string: he plays it solo; it's basically a fiddle tune bouncing off the A string though sounds like he anchors the A note on the third string ala Sally Goodin. Sounds like there may be a change to the IV chord. And it sounds to me like he does use some other strings http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

though Marty Stuart confirms at the end "and you never did leave"

Here's some more Monroe instrumentals I don't think have been mentioned. Courtesy of Skip Gorman's "MUST HAVE" Monroesque CD

Waltz in C
Waltz in G
Bill's Blues (super cool)

here's the complete track listing; 14 of the 17 are Monroe compositions:

1. Trombolin/Jack Across the Way
2. Chilly Winds of Shannon
3. Kansas City Railroad Blues
4. Land of Lincoln
5. Waltz in G
6. Bill's Blues
7. Come Along Jody
8. Northern White Cloud
9. Right, Right On
10. Waltz in C
11. Golden West
12. Frog on a Lilypad
13. The Lloyd Loar
14. Up Front, Out in the Back
15. Smoky Mountain Schottische
16. The Old Mountaineer
17. Rocky Run

[Peter Hackman]

I checked up on Big Sandy - seems Rosenberg- Wolfe too acknowledge it as a Baker composition (i.e., not traditional).

[mandozilla]

How about "Goin up Caney"? Wait, I'm not sure if Monroe wrote that one.

[Red Henry]

"Goin' Up Caney" has a 99%-identical melody to the Revolutionary-war era "Wild Horse at Stoney Point," sometimes called "Wild Horse," sometimes called "Stoney Point," and sometimes called "Pigtown Fling."

The best recording I know for the fiddle tune itself is on the old LP (now on CD) "Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall," where the tune is untitled-- apparently Columbia didn't want to spend money calling up one of the boys and finding out what the name of the tune was.


Red

[f5loar]

The OP asked for Monroe instrumentals not necessarly ones he wrote. Sticking to the recorded ones and the live ones we are pretty close to getting them all. There are some unrecorded ones that some of the Bluegrass Boys are sitting on. In songs like Poor White Folks,Blue Goose,etc. if Monroe recorded it and you can't find someone who recorded it bluegrass style before Monroe then I would call that a Monroe tune. If someone recorded it after Monroe more than likely they used his approach to learn it.
It Monroe put his stamp on it then best call it a Monroe tune. Just like Salt Creek we know Keith brought it but before hand did that many know it until they bought that Decca 45? Same for Big Sandy River. Monroe has long admitted Baker wrote it but Baker recorded it first with Monroe and it is that version we all follow. Monroe seldom strayed from his reportire of songs. When asked to do someone else's songs he would quickly reply: "We don't do other folks songs and they don't do ours. I don't do Roy Acuff's songs and Roy don't do mine and Roy don't do Marty Robbins songs". This was a nice way to say to his fans he didn't know that one. And many times when trying out new Bluegrass Boys he would refuse to do songs he knew they did not know.

[Spruce]

"Where can I listen to Wolf trap blues? I have never heard of it!"

Ya know, this thread really points the way to a cool CD project of lesser known Monroe tunes...

Get Evan, Tom, and Red in a good room with a good guitar player for backup, and roll tape...

I'd buy one... # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

And I'd hurry up and do it before Ricky does it, or worse yet, me... # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[Perry]

Ya know, this thread really points the way to a cool CD project of lesser known Monroe tunes...

Skip's CD I mentioned a few posts above is a good start but YEAH we need more!

[evanreilly]

Maybe Tom and I can work up some real obscure ones and put them up on Youtube, along with our other more common offerings.
I been trying to get him to learn 'Smoky Mountain Schottische', but he sez he won't learn that until I get 'Come Hither'. Oh, well.

[AlanN]

Evan, they're all the same tune, get diff chords, you know that. And Come Hither is a done deal!

[Peter Hackman]

santa claus
that one was apparently written off some traditional tune, possibly Don't Love Nobody. Monroe also wrote Tall Timber off Katy Hill, and Pike County Breakdown off Sweet Betsy From Pike - I didn't realize this until I read about it.
Quite a transformation. I believe most current versions prominently feature the banjo, but the original recording was a mandolin feature.

[sgarrity]

Evan...that sounds like a great idea. It's about time y'all put a few more tunes up there. I listen to the ones you have done quite frequently!

[evanreilly]

I also suspect that he wrote 'Old Brown County Jamboree Barn' off of 'Used to Be'.

[sgarrity]

And Roanoke sure resembles Soldier's Joy in "G" iff'n ya ask me....

[hedding]

did anyone add the untitled tune in D that I believe monroe wrote from the tourbus recordings? I checked with an all-knowing source and this is not going up caney, but a tune that never recieved a name.

[f5loar]

On Skip's CD don't add Rocky Run to the Monroe list. That tune was written by my good friend Jerry Stuart of North Carolina. Skip included on his CD because it was very Monroe sounding. Monroe probably heard the tune from Jerry but never recorded it or did it live so it don't count.
I've got Bill's Dream and Blue Goose ready to go to video now!

[mandobuff]

How do I get information on SE Comando gathering in May?

[Leevon DeCourley]

Did Monroe write The Dead March. Or is that an old fiddle tune as well?

[Peter Hackman]

Did Monroe write The Dead March. Or is that an old fiddle tune as well?
It's reasonable to assume that all the tunes on the Uncle Pen album are traditional although Monroe and Baker may have added their own touches.

[Peter Hackman]

I also suspect that he wrote 'Old Brown County Jamboree Barn' off of 'Used to Be'.
it has also been suggested that the first part of Gold Rush elaborates on
Poor Ellen Smith.

[Peter Hackman]

And Roanoke sure resembles Soldier's Joy in "G" iff'n ya ask me....
I associate Roanoke with Turkey in the Straw.

[Peter Hackman]

The OP asked for Monroe instrumentals not necessarly ones he wrote. Sticking to the recorded ones and the live ones we are pretty close to getting them all. There are some unrecorded ones that some of the Bluegrass Boys are sitting on. In songs like Poor White Folks,Blue Goose,etc. if Monroe recorded it and you can't find someone who recorded it bluegrass style before Monroe then I would call that a Monroe tune. If someone recorded it after Monroe more than likely they used his approach to learn it.
It Monroe put his stamp on it then best call it a Monroe tune. Just like Salt Creek we know Keith brought it but before hand did that many know it until they bought that Decca 45? Same for Big Sandy River. Monroe has long admitted Baker wrote it but Baker recorded it first with Monroe and it is that version we all follow. Monroe seldom strayed from his reportire of songs. When asked to do someone else's songs he would quickly reply: "We don't do other folks songs and they don't do ours. I don't do Roy Acuff's songs and Roy don't do mine and Roy don't do Marty Robbins songs". This was a nice way to say to his fans he didn't know that one. And many times when trying out new Bluegrass Boys he would refuse to do songs he knew they did not know.
I appreciate your point but somewhere it gets a bit problematic. For instance, I can't recall ever hearing Devil's Dream or Sailor's Hornpipe
in Bluegrass before Keith brought them to Monroe's group; but would you call these two Monroe instrumentals? They were certainly well-known in folk and even popular music (Spade Cooley goosed both of them up) earler. And I'm pretty sure Baker knew Sailor as he chose the proper key (in fact, I think his "break" is a traditional variation; I believe I've heard it somewhere else).

The more obscure Uncle Pen numbers, such as Dead March,
are a different matter. But Texas Quickstep/Gallop/Polka is very well-known and I think Old Gray Mare is, too, although mostly as a song.

And Salt River was certainly well-known in "folk circles" before Monroe recorded it. (It was changed to Salt Creek to avoid confusion with Big Sandy).

[Brent Willis]

I heard of a song tht Karl Shifflet recorded called Delberts breakdown. He said in the video that Monroe wrote it and never got a chance to record. Anybody verify that or heard the song?

[f5loar]

If you were into Bluegrass and not old time it's unlikely you learned the old time way but from the Monroe way as these tunes were released. Remember in the 50's,60's,70's you learned from the records, not VHS,DVD,etc. Some recorded Monroe live as he allowed taping of his shows. But to call it Bluegrass Monroe would have been first on the majority of these tunes. I never heard Devil's Dream done that way until Monroe recorded it. Same for Solider's Joy or Old Joe Clark. Banjo numbers like Bugle Call Rag,John Hardy were first done by Monroe although Scruggs, Osborne and Crowe made it more popular based on Monroe's version.

[evanreilly]

Here is a pic of Bill (playing guitar!) & Delbert Spray.
May have been working up 'Delbert's Breakdown'.

[John Hill]

That's a cool pic of Bill & Mr. Spray. Kinda jarring to see a guitar on Bill's lap.

Great thread and does inspire one to get a collection of his instrumentals on cd. Most of you probably know that there's a few good youtube videos of some of the more obscure tunes (well, obscure to me anyway) like Land of Lincoln and My Father's Footsteps.

[Red Henry]

Bill was a terrific guitar player. Just listen to the original version of Mule Skinner Blues!

...and David McLaughlin has a great story about Bill's amazing guitar playing backstage, as witnessed by both David and Dudley. Get him to tell about it when you see him.

Red

[Peter Hackman]

If you were into Bluegrass and not old time it's unlikely you learned the old time way but from the Monroe way as these tunes were released. Remember in the 50's,60's,70's you learned from the records, not VHS,DVD,etc. Some recorded Monroe live as he allowed taping of his shows. But to call it Bluegrass Monroe would have been first on the majority of these tunes. I never heard Devil's Dream done that way until Monroe recorded it. Same for Solider's Joy or Old Joe Clark. Banjo numbers like Bugle Call Rag,John Hardy were first done by Monroe although Scruggs, Osborne and Crowe made it more popular based on Monroe's version.
The 60's were the era of the folk revival; to the citybillies and us Europeans that meant a blurring of genres. We didn't care much what was "old-time" or "bluegrass". In this context Soldier's Joy and Old Joe Clark were ubiquitous.
I learned the former from a Watson/Ritchie record, and Old Joe - you don't learn it, you hear it and you know it.
Monroe's motive for including traditional numbers featuring the banjo on BG Ramble was said folk revival.

Bugle Call Rag derives from an old Dixieland number, Earl Scruggs recorded it before Monroe did. It may have been Tony Ellis' or Owen Bradley's idea to use it.

It was Ellis who brought the instrumental version of John Hardy to the session. It's a song of course, and I think this melody is the one that the Carter Family used decades earlier.

[cooper4205]

just to clear up why I put some of the traditional numbers on my list -- I only call tunes like The Old Gray Mare and Milenburg Joy(s), among others, Monroe tunes when we're talking about bluegrass.

[Chris "Bucket" Thomas]

And Roanoke sure resembles Soldier's Joy in "G" iff'n ya ask me....
I associate Roanoke with Turkey in the Straw.



Thoughts on Roanoke from Ron Thomason of the DBFS:

"Here's my theory on Roanoke. #Bill Monroe took the signature part of Gray Eagle (in the key of A) and put it in the key of G."

And for your viewing pleasure, two smoke'in versions:

Compton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XbvnwB0L9g&feature=related

Hull
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNpVvDXktQY

[sgarrity]

This just goes to show: All fiddle tunes are the same but some are a little different! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Peter Hackman]

This just goes to show: #All fiddle tunes are the same but some are a little different! # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
The really great tunes are the ones you can goose up indefinitely and still maintain their character. Monroe examples of this are Crossing the Cumberlands and the Moonlight Waltz (as I try to prove on my website).
And, of course, Rawhide.

[Chris "Bucket" Thomas]

This just goes to show: #All fiddle tunes are the same but some are a little different! # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
I have also heard some folks make reference to the similarities to Gray Eagle and Soldiers Joy.

[earthsave]

Dredging this one up due to a reference in a more recent thread.

One of my favorites that I didnt see was The Long Bow. Assuming that is Bill's and not Kenny's or someone elses.

[mandozilla]

Okay Scot, here we go again. :))

I don't recall seeing "Blue Grass Part One" on the B. Monroe tune list. :confused:

:mandosmiley:

[sgarrity]

It's on there Mark. It's also known as Bluegrass Twist

[mandozilla]

DOH! :redface: Didn't know that...I stand corrected, thank Shaun. :)

BTW I've been eyeballing your L & H Style C in the classifieds but alas the funds are low right now...dagnabit! :grin:

:mandosmiley:

[roberto]

Any one said Texas Lone Star?
One of my favourites. A haunting tune.

[Patrick Market]

In response to evanreilly post from 2-26-08:

Evan:

So, how would you suggest one go about learning to play "Smoky Mountain Schottische"? I have found only one source (online) that offers the tab for it, but I also haven't dug very deep for it either. Or is this a topic better suited to a different forum?

Thanks,
Pat

[swampstomper]

When asked to do someone else's songs he would quickly reply: "We don't do other folks songs and they don't do ours. I don't do Roy Acuff's songs and Roy don't do mine and Roy don't do Marty Robbins songs".

Well, he recorded Big River reportedly to show John Cash the "proper" approach to JC's song.

[earthsave]

In response to evanreilly post from 2-26-08:

Evan:

So, how would you suggest one go about learning to play "Smoky Mountain Schottische"? I have found only one source (online) that offers the tab for it, but I also haven't dug very deep for it either. Or is this a topic better suited to a different forum?

Thanks,
Pat

The Homespun Monroe Mandolin video with Hartford interviewing has Bill playing it. I'm pretty sure Mike Compton has put in on tab. Not sure if it is online tho?

[f5loar]

I thought "Tab" was a diet soft drink.
You learn them by "ear".
My quote from Monroe about not doing other Opry stars songs was from his early days. Later in life he would do most anything including dancing with break dancers in a Skaggs video.

[woodwizard]

I thought "Tab" was a diet soft drink.
You learn them by "ear".


:)) But seriously ... You do what you can do the quickest way possible ... life's too short. Nothing wrong with a little tab help to assist the ear. IMHO

[jim simpson]

I thought Tab was what you hoped the other party would pick up at the end of the meal.

I recently ripped all of my Bill Monroe cd's in order to make an all instrumental cd. I made my list and easily exceeded 80 minutes. I had to trim down to fit on one cd. I really wanted to use it as a learning play along recording but find that I enjoy listening to it for pleasure.

[Patrick Market]

The Homespun Monroe Mandolin video with Hartford interviewing has Bill playing it. I'm pretty sure Mike Compton has put in on tab. Not sure if it is online tho?

Scot,

The Homespun video is where I saw/heard it first. I watched it again recently and got inspired to hunt it down and finally learn it. Thanks for the heads up on Mike Compton.

Pat

[Mike Bunting]

It is in the tab that came with the Monroe video/DVD

[Patrick Market]

It is in the tab that came with the Monroe video/DVD

Ah! I have been using a borrowed copy of the DVD. Sorry for the confusion.

[Perry]

Beware of Homespun TAB...you gotta take it with a grain of salt. There is a definite mistake in Frog on a Lily Pad; the tab is wrong, notation correct. i.e. 4th measure last note is notated as an "E" but tabbed as an "A". Cant say if Smokey is 100% correct but then again is TAB ever? There's all that nuance that is just about impossible to TAB.

Skip Gorman has a different take on "Smokey" on his Monroesque CD

[evanreilly]

The three recorded versions of 'SMS' that I am aware of are from Butch Waller, Skip Gorman and Prairie Ramblers (1936). Watch the Homespun video if you really want to see how Monroe played it.

[mandozilla]

I recently ripped all of my Bill Monroe cd's in order to make an all instrumental cd.

Wow Jim! I did just that yesterday! Hadn't even read this thread yet. Spooky! Why did I wait so long to do it? :confused:

I've got everything on there from Tennessee Blues to My Last Days on Earth. :grin:

:mandosmiley:

[Mandoist]

David Dees (last I knew he was in Florida) had started this as a project years ago. I think he even included how many versions were recorded, and by whom? Not sure, it's been a while. But if anyone knows where he is these days...maybe you can get him in on this thread? I believe he is still an IBMA member.

[evanreilly]

I think David Deese is somewhere in the Piedmont, North Carolina. Next time I see him, I'll ask him about that project. Maybe I can contribute an 'unrecorded' tune or three.

[Mike Bromley]

Perry's post got me thinking about a few more (ones he wrote, or made his so to speak, but for the most part are not well known)

Bill's Dream
Blue Goose
Evenin' Prayer Blues
Heel and Toe Polka
Jekyll Island
Kiss Me Waltz
Long Bow, the
Milenburg Joy
Old Gray Mare Came Tearing out of the Wilderness
Poor White Folks
Roxanna Waltz
Sugar Loaf Mountain
Tallahassee
Texas Gallop (or Quickstep)
Texas Blue-Bonnet

Milenberg Joy is on of my alltime faves, period. It has Monrojo.

[Randy Smith]

[QUOTE= (Wolfboy @ Feb. 26 2008, 16:25)]
I know two accounts of this, Wolfe-Rosenberg (traditional) and liner notes to
Amrican Traveler (Baker composition). According to both Monroe simply put his name next to Baker's without really contributing at all. He also claimed co-authorship to Baker's Breakdown.

Yes, Peter. It seems Monroe is co-credited for Baker's tune, which was originally recorded on Monroe's **Bluegrass Special** album.

From David Brody's Kenny Baker/Fiddle (Oak Pubs.): "At one of Kenny's first recording sessions with the Bluegrass Boys, on December 6, 1962, Bill Monroe asked him if he had written a song that he would like to record. Kenny chose "Big Sandy River." Given that bandleaders had been credited with band members' compositions previously, Monroe's being credited might have been typical.

"Baker's Breakdown" was recorded at the same session "Big Sandy River" was. I think that is also co-credited but certainly a Baker composition.
So, via copyright, "Baker's Breakdown" belongs on the list.

R.S.

R.S.

[Fretbear]

You need to whip it like a mule, son...........

[Randy Smith]

I'm getting to this thread late. Sorry if any of this has been said:

1. Monroe wrote "Strawberry Point" for a small town in Iowa he went through on his bus. Former Bluegrass Boy banjoist Bob Black and fiddler Al Murphy made a point of learning the tune to remember it and might have been (or might still be?) the only ones playing the tune. At the time the tune was written, their band might have been opening a concert of two for Monroe.
They still play the tune occasionally if I'm right.

2. Has "Boston Boy" been mentioned?

3. James Bryan recorded Monroe's "Nanook of the North" on the Rounder album **Lookout Blues** (1983), which also includes "Monroe's Farewell to Long Hollow" and "Reelfoot Reel." Please urge Rounder to rerelease this album as a cd.

R.S.