Come Hither to Go Yonder: Playing Bluegrass with Bill Monroe

Introduction

Introduction There’ll be fiddles and guitars and banjo pickin’ too, Bill Monroe singin’ out them old Kentucky blues, Ernest Tubb’s number, “Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right” On the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night. —Chorus of the “Grand Ole Opry Song” by Hylo Brown Nashville,฀Tennessee “And฀now฀ladies฀and฀gentlemen,฀let’s฀make฀welcome฀a฀member฀of฀the฀ Country฀Music฀Hall฀of฀Fame—here฀he฀is฀with฀his฀Blue฀Grass฀Boys—the฀ great฀Bill฀Monroe!” That was how announcer Grant Turner introduced Bill on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, and as we took our places at the microphones, Mr. Turner continued in his well-practiced yet sincere tone of voice: “Give฀him฀ a฀great฀big฀hand—Bill’s฀coming฀out฀to฀center฀stage฀to฀play฀for฀you฀right฀ now.” A crescendo of applause rose up from an adoring audience. “Howdy, folks, howdy—we’re glad to be with you here tonight,” Bill said in his Kentucky-accented voice. His tone was honest and down-toearth as he greeted his fans. “Kenny Baker’s on the fiddle, on the guitar we have Ralph Lewis, on the bass fiddle is Randy Davis, and with the five-string banjo we have Bob Black. We’ve picked out a number that we get more requests for than any other—it’s called ‘Uncle Pen.’” Bill stood proudly at the microphone, his white hat gleaming as the spotlight centered on him. I felt that pride radiating into me as well. I wondered if my folks were listening back home in Iowa. Ralph played the introductory guitar notes before Kenny launched into the familiar melody on his fiddle. Bass, mandolin, and banjo added their distinctive sounds to the musical mixture, and Bill Monroe’s voice charged in above it all. He was singing once again for the people who loved him. The song ended with Kenny playing part of an old-time tune that Bill’s uncle Pen used to 2฀ |฀ introduction play, called “Jenny Lynn.” Bill danced a few steps. The audience roared its approval. Bill Monroe was comfortable at the Grand Ole Opry—like a traveler returning home to his family. Those nights at the Opry were probably the most exciting moments for me during my stay with the Blue Grass Boys. Playing on the Grand Ole Opry was a euphoric experience for anyone, but performing there with Bill Monroe was special: he had been a member of the show since 1939. The Solemn Old Judge himself, George D. Hay (who gave the Grand Ole Opry its name), had told Bill when he was hired: “If you ever leave here, you’ll have to fire yourself.” Also present at Bill Monroe’s 1939 audition for the Grand Ole Opry were Harry Stone, the Opry’s manager, and David Stone, an announcer for the show. Bill performed there with his first band of Blue Grass Boys the very next Saturday night after the audition, starting with the song “Mule Skinner Blues”—for which he received three encores (according to Bill). In one interview, he said it was the first time any artist had ever received an encore on the Opry. For me, Bill Monroe was the Opry, and playing on that show with him was a tangible link with history. I think about those moments often, and I treasure them in my memory. But Bill was also a tangible link with the future—by playing for him I joined a proud musical family that had dreams for what was to come, as well as roots deep in the past. The style of music called “bluegrass” was still evolving. Its antecedents went back for literally hundreds of years, and it possessed a timelessness that was personified in Bill Monroe; at the same time one could observe changes taking place in the music every day. The 1970s were a time when bluegrass underwent many transformations. The baby-boom generation had discovered it, due in no small part to the release of an enormously popular and successful album, Will฀the฀Circle฀Be฀Unbroken, which showcased many now-famous bluegrass artists. Released in 1972 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the album featured performances by such greats as singer and guitarist Doc Watson, Jimmy Martin (known as the King of Bluegrass), Merle Travis (inventor of the finger style known as Travis picking), and Maybelle Carter (of the famous Carter Family of Virginia, which had a more far-reaching influence on country...