Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe is the master of the mandolin no doubt about it. He will always be the greatest mandolin player who ever lived. Does anyone disagree? He is the father of bluegrass and to me the Father of Mandolin. He created the mandolin sound we love! Hey if anyone disagrees or agrees post it here your thoughts about Bill Monroe The Father of the mando!

[Scott Tichenor]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[J. Mark Lane]

Troll.

[elenbrandt]

someone wake me when this one is over.... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[Ken Berner]

No intention of demeaning Mr. Monroe here, as he certainly brought about an awareness of the mandolin and bluegrass music. The beauty of this instrument is that it lends itself to several other styles of music and I didn't hear them from him. There are quite a few mandolinists who play bluegrass that are certainly worth listening to and don't necessarily have to sound just like Bill Monroe!

[Scotti Adams]

..while I admire Mun for what he did...taking the mandolin and putting it front row and center in your face. He had no one to copy...he took the sounds that were in his head and made "His" style....and dare I say somewhat sloppy at times. But hey..that was his thing...his playing was on the edge as was his singing...which wasnt the most pleasant to these ears sometimes. I give him all the credit for creating a platform for others to come and play on...leave and do their own thing....Flatt & Scruggs come to mind. I do love Bills stuff but to say he is the best...thats a big 'ol NO in my book. Theres an old saying in the Blue grass circle that I have heard all my playing years.....Theres a reason he is called the Father of Bluegrass....and it has less to do with his musical prowness than it does with his everyday dealings with people.....I do agree that he created a style...other players have fed off that style and created other styles...I couldnt imagine a whole world of Monroe clones....it would be very mundane. I do give credit where credit is due...Monroe was but one match in the matchbox that sparked the music we call Bluegrass today. You asked me for my opinion so there it is...not to piss anybody off...just opinion thats all http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[ethanopia]

go to http://www.bluegrassbox.com

download Bill Monroe Live from the Opry 1946-65

I never got to see him in person, Ever.

But I can tell you I think he was the best, Ever.

this thread does smell or trolling though...

[Scotti Adams]

..just opinions Ethan...if people cant handle opinions other than their own then they should think twice about posting a question like this. Monroe might have been the "best" back in those years you mentioned to some people. Dont forget Bobby Osborne wasnt too far behind. When he and Sonny emerged he took what Bill was doing and cleaned it up and made something different. In my opinion he could sing and play rings around Monroe. I agree that Bill was the best at being Bill and doing what he was doing. Hell..Monroe licks are some of my favorite licks to use and to warm up with....some people will think that Monroe or and anybody else for that matter is the best and thats their opinion and I respect that...thats all I have to say on the matter. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif ...then you have Wakefield, PeeWee and others...

[jim simpson]

I guess it's the BEST that gets everyone riled up. If Bill's playing was analyzed from a stricly technical perspective then I don't believe he would be considered the best, that's true if you include those who came after him. I don't think anyone would deny that he was the best if you consider the volume of his work, the originality, the passion, dedication, etc. #I wouldn't wan't to lessen the image of Bill by picking apart the technical aspect. In conclusion I would say that it does invite controversy by stating that Bill Monroe was the best ever, period. Let's just say we love Bill for what he's created, what he has left us with, and who he has inspired. Yeah, I guess he is/was the best.

[evanreilly]

Monroe was the youngest boy in his family. He wanted to play fiddle primarily, then guitar second. But his elder brothers got their choices first. As Monroe said, he got stuck with the mandolin and "...that was the deal of it". #He took the sounds of his mother's fiddling, his Uncle Pen's fiddling, and later, Arthur Smith's fiddling, and applied his interepretation of old-time fiddling to the mandolin. #
He didn't have any mandolin role models. #He played the old-time fiddle numbers, and played backup and leads to his brothers in his first musical adventures.
His years travelling and playing with his brother Charlie lead him to explore the role of the mandolin in a duet setting, backing up the singer and taking fast lead breaks.
When he formed his own band in 1939, the mandolin wasn't the lead instrument in The Blue Grass Boys; the fiddle was. #The fiddle was always the 'First Child' in Monroe's instrumental hierarchy; his mandolin playing was based on a fiddler's approach to the mandolin.
That continued throughout the career of Monroe. #He loved old-time fiddle tunes most of all, and tried to play them on the mandolin as he remembered and interpreted the older fiddle players playing them.
No one else took the humble 'parlor instrument' and turned it into the fast, piercing, penetrating bluesy instrument as Monroe did.
He may not be considered "best" by some, but he owns the mandolin style designated Blue Grass Mandolin. #That is historical fact, not subjective opinion.

[ourgang]

Was Monroe the best mandolin player? Hardly. Was Monroe the greatest mandolin player? Without a doubt, yes. There were and are multitudes of players better than Monroe but they all came after him. He laid the foundation, raised the walls and roofed it. When he moved on, someone else came in and simply redecorated, using the house that Monroe built. Monroe pulled music from the mandolin that no one would have ever thought was there. There's not a mondolin player out the today who doesn't play Monroe's licks. And, as far as players go, Bobby Osborne can't touch Monroe, never could and never will. Sorry Scotti, just my opinion.

[Scotti Adams]

..and I respect your opinion

[John Flynn]

I agree with some earlier posters in that these "best" discussions are sophomoric and pointless. I would be happy to discuss Monroe's, or any player's, relative merits, but these attempts to play "king of the hill" by claiming "My favorite mandolin player is the best and I dare you to disagree," is childish. I will not take the bait. We have been through this with Monroe, Thile, Bush, etc. ad nauseum. This is too good of a site for this. As a group, we should be better than this. Just MHO.

[Bradley]

I'll go along with this one.....

[QUOTE]Was Monroe the best mandolin player? #Hardly. #Was Monroe the greatest mandolin player? #Without a doubt, yes.

What really gets on my nerves is the crowd on Monroe Clones that can only play Monroe Songs in a manner that they feel is "just like Bills"...Heaven forbid though if they had to play "sweet blue eyed darlin in A flat versus A major....they'd never figure out the change. I recently played a show with a older gentleman...He tried to be so much like Monroe, I think his Son was named James.He Stood,held his face like, even wore a suit like one Mr Bill would wear.

Thats all fine and Dandy....but thank God that somepeople had enough smarts to think "Out of the Box" and come up with something fresher and newer...Do I think we should kick Big Mon to the curb,heck No, But lets realize what Bill did 50 years ago,buts lets equally appreciate the freshness of the new styles as well.

Some of the players of our day play on levels that Big Mon could never have dreamed of...And those players would never have been there if it wasnt for the Dream of a Crossed Eyed boy from Rosine.

[brewmaster]

How is it possible that many of the names I see responding to this thread have mentioned so adamantly, that one mandolin cannot be better or worse than another? They say "it all depends on your taste" or " what sounds good to you".

Is this no different? Bill was great. There are others who are great and there will be many more who will be just as great. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

I need a beer.

[elenbrandt]

Hey John, if you're buyin', I'm with you -- let's bust out of here before the masses get too riled....

[levin4now]

I don't meant to come out swinging at Big Mon, but I find it hard to appreciate Bill Monroe's singing. I've been listening to his 2CD anthology and his recording with Doc on that Smithsonian CD, and find myself cringing on certain parts. Am I missing something? i don't mean to be disrespectful, but just letting you know how I feel.

[odeman]

Bill Monroe wrote the book on modern American mandolin music. Everybody else since him has studied that book, and many have expanded on it. There are those who can certainly play faster, more complex, more imaginative mandolin music - but, Monroe is without a doubt, the most IMPORTANT mandolinist of the 20th century. ' Not a bad legacy.

[evanreilly]

Another perspective on Monroe's influence:
Are there any other mandolin player's in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame?
Are there a lot of mandolin players in the Country Music Hall of Fame?
Are there a lot of mandolin players in the the Songwriters Hall of Fame?
There may be a few other mandolin players it the Blue Grass Hall of Fame.
Only one mandolin player is in all four. And he got there playing that old junker #73987 all the way.

Bill played with Heart and Soul. I would take that any day over speed and technical.

Like Mike Compton said. Bills playing can be compared to Monet one of the worlds greatest impressionist painters.

His paintings were not as detailed as the Rembrandts of the world but nonetheless just as powerfull

[Darryl Wolfe]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...hash, rehash, nothing to be gained here guys...unless you have nothing else to do.....every opinion good or bad has merit

[johnwalser]

I've heard Chris, Ronnie, Ricky, Butch, Doyle, Michael and others and listen to Don, Evan and soooo many others on CD. Was Mr. Monroe the best? For what he did, YES! However, I bet even ole Bill would stand in awe of some of the current players that have taken mandolin play in different directions. That said, I sure would like to have had Mr. Monroe as my next door neighbor.
John

[Eugene]

...Bill Monroe The Father of the mando!
Please. #Raffaele Calace was busy fathering all aspects of mandolin art--construction, composition, technique, performance, championing to the masses, music criticism, etc.--decades before Mr. Monroe was conceived. #If it weren't for Calace, the mandolin might not have survived to reach Mr. Monroe. #If not for the Vinaccia clan of the early-mid 1700s, there wouldn't have been a mandolin as we know it to inspire any of this lot. #Choose your inspiration from anywhere along the timeline you please, and don't assume wherever you choose your inspiration is the all-encompassing representative of the art.

[Scott Tichenor]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...hash, rehash, nothing to be gained here guys...unless you have nothing else to do.....every opinion good or bad has merit
What Darryl said.

Pity poor Arnold Schultz. Who is that you ask?

[Eugene]

Of course, "Raffaele Calace was busy fathering all aspects of mandolin art" was meant to be read as tongue-in-cheek.

[Mark53]

Well, I am sure I am going to get it, BUT, I love the mandolin but don't really like Bluegrass.

What drew me to the mandolin was Norman Blake. I love the old timey music.
Bluegrass is sometimes played too fast and the high harmony just gets on my nerves . Blake's music I find is more interesting.

I do like Rhonda Vincent and Alison Krauss.

I appreciate Bill Monroe's contribution to American music though.

[evanreilly]

Arnold Shultz taught Monroe everything Monroe needed to know! Namely, that Blue Grass Music started with the Blues.
And that the Fiddle ruled!!!

[AlanN]

I first saw Monroe and the BG Boys at the Old Tucson Bluegrass Festival in 1977, sat right in front of the 3 foot high stage and cassette taped the show (long since lost). He smiled down at me and it was like "Pay attention, boy!"

[Scotti Adams]

Peter..you shouldnt do that...those self appointed Cafe police can be a burden sometimes. Everybody is entitled to their opinion here....if it goes against their grain then they are ready to cuff and gag you....dont worry about it and come back in...the water is fine.

Peter- When I read that comment, I thought it was on the general topic of the thread, not the comment directly above it.

[Scott Tichenor]

Whoa! Only guy I even remotely took to task was the individual that started this and has yet to been seen since. Taking to task meaning writing a bunch of zzzzzzzz. This is a nutty discussion. So what? People are tired of it, for sure and are weighing in as such. If you'd like to continue to discuss the merits of Bill as the greatest mandolin player of all time, be my guest.

Cafe police. Ooooooh. Look out.

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

[Scotti Adams]

..yes it is nutty Scott....its old news...weve been down this road before.....opinions...everybody has one...and people shouldnt try to stifle those whos opinions dont jive with their own...

[Salty Dog]

Since we shouldn't talk about "best" without defining criteria (this is, after all, Olympic season). #Best could mean that a piece was played the way the author intended it. #Since he was the author of much of his material, he wins the prize. #We must remember that those who embellished his music with too many fancy licks or nano-notes received the "whole lot of nuthin" comment.
# # Or should we judge the best mandolin player by admiring a particular performance? #Unless there was a comparable performance of the same music by WSM, who is to judge? #I suspect that WSM played the mandolin exactly the way he wanted, and got the sound he wanted. #After all, he had enough years of practice to get it right to his own ear, didn't he.?
# # The answer to this whole question is that anyone on this forum (who has become proficient - another endless discusssion) is the best depending on the criteria that we choose. #If you really want to get far off into the land of perplexity, consider the mandolin players that were chosen for "Mandolin Extravaganza" and the prominent players that were not chosen.

[OdnamNool]

I just deleted my "post" because I thought that it might not be "appropriate." #Yet, the truth of the matter is... I do like your "handle," Salty Dog... because that really and truelly is the name of my dog! #Salty! #He's the best. # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

(Sorry for the interuption...carry on...)

[mandolooter]

Am I missing out on something....who's this Bill Monroe guy anyways? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[OdnamNool]

Oh no... M'Looter... Guess what? Shhhhhhh. I've never, ever heard any Bill Monroe... It's true! You too, eh? (Doubtful...I think you're joking...)

[mandolooter]

Dang! Busted already.......:(

[AeroJoe]

This ain't no part of nothin'...