From: gcmccoury@yahoo.com   
      
   "Vince"  wrote in message   
   news:vwQOf.179223$WH.52572@dukeread01...   
   > OK...here's a question to generate some genuine BLUEGRASS DISCUSSION. What   
   > instruments do you consider to be essential to a bluegrass band?   
      
   FYI: Some history is as follows:   
      
   The Monroe Brothers were one of the most popular duet teams of the 1920s and   
   into the 1930s. Charlie played the guitar, Bill played the mandolin and they   
   sang duets in harmony. When the brothers split up as a team in 1938, both   
   went on to form their own bands. Since Bill was a native of Kentucky, the   
   Bluegrass State, he decided to call his band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass   
   Boys.   
      
     Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry   
   in 1939. Bill's new band was different from other traditional country music   
   bands of the time because of its hard driving and powerful sound, utilizing   
   traditional acoustic instruments and featuring highly distinctive vocal   
   harmonies. After *experimenting* with various instrumental combinations   
   (including accordion), Bill settled on mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and   
   bass as the format for his band.   
      
     While many fans of Bluegrass music date the genre back to 1939, when   
   Monroe formed his first Blue Grass Boys band, most believe that the classic   
   Bluegrass sound came of age in 1946, shortly after Earl Scruggs joined the   
   band.  Equally influential in the classic 1946 line-up of the Blue Grass   
   Boys were Lester Flatt on guitar and lead vocals, Chubby Wise on fiddle and   
   Howard Watts on the doghouse bass.   
      
    Initially, Monroe's music was simply called "country", "mountain" or   
   "hillbilly" music. By the 1950s, people began referring to this style of   
   music as "bluegrass" music primarily associating the music with Bill's band   
   name/home state. Therefore, the term bluegrass was not really used until   
   well after the genre was defined by Monroe.   
      
   Having reflected back on the history of the genre, I think *most* Bluegrass   
   aficionados would agree that the acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, 5-string   
   banjo and bass fiddle comprise a quintessential Bluegrass band. Having   
   played in various Bluegrass bands, I would suggest at a *minimum* you need a   
   flat-top, fiddle and mandolin.   
      
   Yet another $.02 worth from a Bluegrass music fan since in the womb...   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)