From: gcmccoury@yahoo.com   
      
   FYI: Some history is as follows:   
      
   The Monroe Brothers were one of the most popular duet teams of the1920s 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, 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.   
      
    Some of the premier Bluegrass 3-finger style banjo pickers are Earl   
   Scruggs, Don Reno, Ralph Stanley, J.D. Crowe, Porter Church, Bill Keith,   
   Sonny Osborne, Bill Emerson, Kenny Ingram, Ted Lundy and many more.   
      
     Music from the following bands will give you a good introduction to   
   Bluegrass music: Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys (the father of Bluegrass   
   music), Lester Flatt/Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin &   
   the Sunny Mountain Boys, Don Reno/Red Smiley & the Tennesee Cutups, The   
   Stanley Brothers and Jim & Jesse McReynolds. The Del McCoury Band, The   
   Country Gentlemen, J.D. Crowe & the New South and The Osborne Brothers. This   
   is certainly not a complete list but will provide a good introduction to the   
   roots of the music.   
      
   NOW REGARDING "Dueling Banjos":   
      
     In 1955, Don Reno paired up with Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith and recorded   
   "Feuding Banjos", a tune later used without their permission in the 1972   
   movie Deliverance (retitled "Dueling Banjos"). Reno and Smith sued the film   
   company for rights infringement and won. IMHO, I think most people would   
   consider "Fueding Banjos" to be one of the classic Bluegrass instrumental   
   tunes.   
      
   Yet another $.02 worth from a "Bluegrass" music fan since in the womb...   
      
   "LawnMower"  wrote in message   
   news:Xns95B1AC3415CF9JohnErik66aolcom@68.1.17.6...   
   >I love the banjo in that song.  Im very new to this kind of music. How   
   > can I find more banjo music like that? Who's a big name in banjo music?   
   > I love the fast picking technique.   
   >   
   > Thank You   
   > John   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)