By Paul Freeman [1993 Interview]

There are many great musical artists. But how many actually invented a genre? That’s exactly what Bill Monroe did. He’s known as the Father of Bluegrass. For nearly 69 years, he created vibrant music as a singer, instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader.

Among his classic tunes Monroe penned are “Uncle Pen,” “I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

Monroe’s group, The Blue Grass Boys, launched many notable careers, including those of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Vassar Clements, Del McCoury, Carter Stanley, Byron Berline and Stringbean. Monroe also played regularly with guitar great Doc Watson.

Monroe kept performing until he was felled by a stroke in April of 1996. He passed five months later, at age 84. But his work continues to influence countless musicians.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
It’s a privilege to talk with you. Bluegrass music seems as fresh today as it must have in the 30s. Why do you think it is so timeless?

BILL MONROE:
Yes, it’s held on awful good. There’s more people playing it now. And it’s all over the world.

PCC:
How would you say it has grown and changed over the last 50 years?

MONROE:
Well, more people are kind of promoting it and helping it. A lot of record companies are putting out records of different artists. And as a result, everything is helped.

PCC:
Are you surprised to see how widely and how well it has been accepted?

MONROE:
Well, I’m just proud of it. They’ve done so much good to help bluegrass music.

PCC:
You’ve accomplished so much. What are the things you’ve been most proud of, over the course of your career?

MONROE:
I’m glad that I originated the music, bluegrass music, and in the way that I wanted it put together. It’s really wonderful to be on the Grand Ole Opry, broadcast every Friday and Saturday night, at least every Saturday, from way on back. And I started there in 1939. I’ve been there for 54 years. This coming October will be 55.

And Paul, here’s something that I’d like to tell you — 54 years, and I was late only three times in 54 years.

PCC:
That’s dependable. And the Opry itself is so dependable for the listeners.

MONROE:
Yes, sir.

PCC:
So many changes in the world, nice to know there’s something that’s always there.

MONROE:
That’s right.

PCC:
What about the changes in bluegrass? Now you have bands that are mixing it with rock or jazz. What do you think about that?

MONROE:
Well, they’ve got some of that kind of music going in their mind, they want to play some of that rock and stuff like that… I just don’t understand a lot of it.

PCC:
But does it bother you, when they take the music that you invented and move it in different directions?

MONROE:
Well, I just try not to listen anymore to it.

PCC:
What about back when Elvis recorded “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” was that something you could accept right away? Or was that hard to take, too?

MONROE:
Well, that was all right. He come to Nashville and come around where I was at and made himself acquainted with me and told me that he was sorry, that he recorded “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” And I told him, I said, ‘Well, ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky,’ if it done you some good, if it was a good number for you, I’m for you 100 percent to go right on and sing ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky.’” The whole world like to hear him sing ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky.

PCC:
Even though Elvis was creating a new kind of music, he always had great respect for the music that came before.

MONROE:
Yes, sir. He did.

PCC:
You’ve influenced so many people. What music influenced you in the beginning?

MONROE:
Well, I just wanted a music of my own. I heard so many people and I didn’t want to copy somebody or follow them and their style of music. I wanted something new. So I just worked at it hard. And I’m glad that I come up with this music. And it’s got good sounds, got good timing to it, a hard drive. It’s also got a lot of blues in it. First it’s got that old-time Scotch feeling, the way they used to play the fiddle years ago. And then of course, the Methodist, Baptist and Holiness singing is in it. And the old Southern Blues. It’s just got a wonderful sound. It touches you, when you hear bluegrass music.

PCC:
And it seems like it gives the musicians a lot of room to be creative.

MONROE:
It does. It sure does.

PCC:
And does that make it exciting for you? The fact that you can always do something new within a song?

MONROE:
Well, the musicians work hard on it. You take a fiddle player or a banjo player or a mandolin player — there’s always somebody up there ahead of them. And so now, when they play it, they want to get down and get it up just right, to where they can be in a class with them.

PCC:
How old were you when you began playing the mandolin?

MONROE:
I was up there in Kentucky, at our home, on our farm, about a mile-and-a-half outside of Rosine, Kentucky. I was around six or eight years old. I guess I was eight years old, trying to start on the mandolin.

PCC:
And is it true that it was the mandolin, because that’s what was needed in the family band, the one instrument that was left?

MONROE:
Yes, sir. And that helped out bluegrass a lot, to have that mandolin in there. If you’re not playing the melody of something, you can still keep the time going on the mandolin to help out.

PCC:
As soon as you started playing the mandolin, do you feel that this was the instrument for you. Or would you have been just has happy with guitar?

MONROE:
Well, I think it was good for me, the mandolin. So I was proud of it. I’ve played a Gibson mandolin for a long, long time. I found a mandolin down in Tampa, Florida, in a barber shop down there. And I bought it. And I’ve kept it ever since. It’s been a wonderful mandolin, made in 1923. It’s a Lloyd Loar.

PCC:
What were the most difficult periods for you, over the course of the career?

MONROE:
I’ve taken care of anything like that. I like to work and I like to do things right. And everything has always just worked in there good.

PCC:
Were you surprised in the 60s, when there was another resurgence of interest, thanks to the folk movement? People were rediscovering bluegrass.

MONROE:
Well, I guess a lot of that come around all right.

PCC:
The songwriting, was that something that came easily and naturally to you? Or did you have to work hard at that?

MONROE:
I’ve wrote a lot of songs. And I started back when I hadn’t ever wrote any songs. And so I just kind of learned, like going to school, you know, I just learned how to write. But I really wrote a lot of instrumental numbers. And I’m really proud of that.

Paul, I’m not braggin’ on this, but I got to where I could write an instrumental number in a half a minute or a minute. And I’m really proud of that.

PCC:
Is that just from experience? Does it come from another place?

MONROE:
Well, it just comes from like hearing the music in your heart and everything and how you want it to sound. And it just all works in there together good.

PCC:
You’re often referred to as a legend — how does that make you feel?

MONROE:
That’s mighty nice. That’s really a nice title to have — legend of bluegrass music.

PCC:
Any regrets, looking back on the career? Anything you might have done differently?

MONROE:
No, sir. No, I think I did it pretty near the way I wanted to do it.

PCC:
How do you view the future of bluegrass music?

MONROE:
I think it’s here to stay.

PCC:
Do you think it will change much in the future?

MONROE:
Not too much. It’s staying awful close right now. You just play the melody right, you know, a good instrumental number or a gospel song or blues or some good duet, you just hang right in there and take care — and they mean a lot… Paul, where are you calling from?

PCC:
California.

MONROE:
California, boy oh, boy. I’d sure like to come out to California. Been a long time since I’ve been there.

PCC:
Well, you’ve got a lot of fans out here who would certainly like to see again.

MONROE:
Well, you tell them I said hello and wish them all the best.