Bill Monroe: The Father of Bluegrass Music (review)

In 1939, a twenty-eight-year-old mandolin player from Kentucky formed a band that developed a new kind of music that was based on a blend of rural song styles. The band's name also helped christen the music with its new moniker. Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys made history and strongly influenced a new generation of performers. That is the focus of the newly re-released DVD, Bill Monroe: The Father of Bluegrass Music.

There is no narrator for this documentary. But the story is told effectively by musicians speaking about Monroe's life and a few of them making music with him in order to reveal the heart of his musical character.

Bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs and the late folk musician John Hartford coax Monroe into relating the essence of his life's work by playing fiddle/mandolin duets with the then eighty-year-old Kentuckian. Each of those songs had been a key performance piece for Monroe. After each duet the younger musicians ask the seasoned performer important questions about what was happening in Monroe's career when he helped to make that piece a popular favorite. The technique is effective. Monroe, bit by bit, reveals the highlights of his impressive life. Through this process the father of bluegrass music also relates stories about those who influenced him like his fiddle playing Uncle Pen Vandiver and the black delta blues guitarist Arnold Schultz.

Interspersed between these performance sessions are commentaries by luminaries of the current world of music who either performed with Monroe or were profoundly influenced by his music. Performers such as Roy Acuff, Emmylou Harris, Lester Flatt, Jerry Garcia, and many others weigh in with their accolades and fascinating stories.

Important historical film clips show Monroe performing at various points in his career. Noticeably and sadly missing, however, is any commentary by Monroe's most famous banjo player, Earl Scruggs.

Almost as famous as Monroe himself is his 1923 F-5 model Gibson mandolin. When Monroe's home was vandalized in 1985 the mandolin was smashed into over 200 pieces. George Gruhn (who is one of the nation's most highly respected experts on vintage fretted instruments) describes how the instrument was lovingly and meticulously restored to playing condition. This segment alone is worth the price of the DVD.

This is a quality documentary. Filmed in 1993 and aired on PBS, it was first released as a DVD in 1999. It then went out of print and was just re-released this year. Some of the editing is a little abrupt. Some of the vintage film clips, of course, have less than desirable audio and video quality. The intonation and mountain harmonies may be a little hard on the ears of those unfamiliar with this type of music. However, this is a well-made, thoughtfully produced film that documents the birth and influence of a very unique style of music. If those with interest in the rural and ethnic music of North America patronize your library, this is a DVD that is certainly worthy of being included in your collection.