Tag Archives: bluegrass

The Origins of Bluegrass Music

I think Bill Monroe might have hired Stringbean more as a comedian to break the ice than for his banjo picking. Either that or because he was a good shortstop! Many early bluegrass bands had at least one member who did the rube comic act . . . a relic from minstrel and medicine show times. Continue reading

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The Sixties in Folk Music / 14. Phil Pritchard

Bass Man Phil Pritchard Henry Phillip Pritchard–known as Phil. Born January 3, 1947, in Yuma, Arizona. I lived in Carlsbad, New Mexico; Clovis, New Mexico; and El Paso, Texas. My family and I moved to Santa Barbara, California, in 1950. … Continue reading

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The Sixties in Folk Music / 13. Todd Grant

I guess it all started when I was about 10 years old. That would have been 1951. Lots of Hank Williams on the radio, Ernest Tubb, Benny Goodman—you remember the days. I lived on the east side of town, down … Continue reading

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The Sixties in Folk Music / 10. Kajsa Ohman

Giving up music for life is something I do periodically. Whether this is due to some innate fear of failure or another fear—that music is so wonderful and powerful it might take over my life—I don’t know. I do know … Continue reading

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Arnold Shultz: Black fiddling and bluegrass music

The first time I met Bill Monroe (regarded as the “Father of Bluegrass Music”) in May of 1963, he mentioned some of the people that influenced the development of the musical style that was later to be named after his … Continue reading

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