Bill Monroe vs. Nashville

Bill Monroe (1911-1996) is arguably one of the single most influential figures in the history of American music. Not only did Monroe dominate a single, distinctive musical genre, he may be the only person in history who deserves credit for single handedly creating an entire genre of music. Of course Bluegrass was built of the same musical components as other forms of American music: modal ballads, African-American secular music ("Blues") and sacred music, Southern Protestant church tendencies, square dance and fiddle tunes- both Black and White, and Tin Pan Alley tunes. Bluegrass also borrowed heavily from the improvisational tendencies of Jazz.But something about this Bluegrass music defines it as being wholly separate and unique from other musical traditions. For one, Monroe consciously distanced himself from the pre dominate (but largely false) Hillbilly image of his time. He eschewed the "Hayseed", comical, and Minstrel tendencies of the past and embraced professionalism and seriousness in his music. The most obvious example is the fact that The Bluegrass Boys wore suits and ties on stage. In the simplest terms, Monroe updated forms of traditional music and molded it into something serious and professional. His musical innovations and influence are alone enough to secure him a pedestal in American history. However, scholars often debate whether one man can truly be responsible for an entire genre of music as no other comparable example can be drawn in the history of American music. In his book Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass Music, Richard Smith writes:<"But how much of Bluegrass did Monroe really invent? Was he the true father of Bluegrass or just one of its many parents? There is intense debate over the relative contributions of Monroe and his sidemen, notably the great Earl Scruggs. The Scruggscentric view is that Bluegrass as we know it today is defined by the bright percolating sound of syncopated three-finger banjo picking, and Monroe's music did not have this sound until Scruggs was hired as a Bluegrass Boy. The Monroecentric view is that lonesome themes, bluesy vocal and instrumental ornamentation, and surging, anticipating rhythms are the true hallmarks of Bluegrass and were present in Monroe's band sound right from the beginning."><"Arguments about the origins of Bluegrass music are particularly intense because- as ‘traditional’ as Bluegrass is in comparison to the rest of American popular music- it has a starting point within living memory (unlike opera or symphonic music), and its origins can arguably be credited to one man (unlike Jazz or Rock' n'Roll). The who-invented-Bluegrass debate bespeaks the vitality of this American art form."(Smith 2000, xii-xiii)>----------------The question emerges as to what exactly defines a musical style? Was it indeed the distinctive banjo style (dubbed "Scruggs Style") or the more general musical tendencies of Monroe combining Blues, traditional music of the British Isles, Jazz etc? Can one man really be the father of a style of music? Did Monroe really do something that had never been done before? From the banjo angle, was Scruggs really the inventor of the three finger style, or did he simply play in the adopted style of his region of Western North Carolina? (Incidentally, this Scruggs banjo style was later adapted to the Dobro by Josh Graves when Scruggs and Lester Flatt formed their own duo-based band after splitting with Monroe. The Graves style of Dobro has since become the standard technique for Bluegrass style Dobro.)What makes this debate interesting is that Bluegrass is such a young style of music born in the 1940's (not the 100's of years old as many erroneously believe). What is commonly referred to as "Bluegrass" is in fact what we call “Old Time” music. If you are inclined to lean towards the "Scruggscentric" view, then the true father of Bluegrass is still living and in fact serves on the faculty of Berklee School of Music (where one can now receive a degree in Bluegrass studies). If you lean towards the "Monroecentric" view, then our father of Bluegrass is but only 10 years in the ground and no older than many of our grandparents. While Creech Holler takes little or no direct or intentionalinfluence from Bluegrass (in its stead, leaning much more heavily towards Old Time music), this is but another example of the general tendency to ignore the musical/cultural influence and importance of Hillbilly music within the context of American history. In order to give credit where credit is due, Dock Boggs should be equally celebrated along with Robert Johnson or John Lee Hooker. Bill Monroe should also equally be celebrated along with the influence of early rockers Bo Diddley, Elvis, and Chuck Berry as well as primary Jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane.The question emerges as to why the importance of the music of rural Whites has tended to be suppressed and generally ignored in favor of celebrating the historical music of rural and urban Blacks. At least part of the answer to this question may very well lie deep within the blackheart of Nashville and its embarrassment of "Hillbilly" culture. Since the early 1950’s, Nashville has made conscious attempts to erase the public's perception of such music in favor of more commercially viable, pop music which caters to a wider audience. Nashville's inability to embrace its true heritage and its general lack of historical awareness has created an almost fruitless situation for artists creating some form of "Country Music" and wishing to reach an audience of large proportions: Either you embrace the Nashville arrogance and create historically ignorant music, or you stand steadfast to tradition. Clinging steadfast to tradition doesn't allow music to progress, yet creating music ignorant, or worse, intolerant of that tradition serves to devalue its historical importance and further distances the art form from years of progression. “As country music met the rock ’n’ roll challenge by electronically amplifying instruments, even adding string sections on records and generally slicking up its image, Bluegrass was widely perceived in the industry as a rough-hewn hick cousin, a quaint diversion but ultimately an unsophisticated embarrassment.” (Smith 2000, xii)Ultimately, Bill Monroe serves as a testament to the combination of tradition and forward- thinking progression in American music.