The great Bill Monroe, the father of Bluegrass music was born on this day in 1911. He died in 1996 at the age of 84. One of the regrets I have is not seeing him in concert.

Monroe was the youngest of 8 children, born in Rosine, Kentucky. His family was a musical one and he being the youngest was given the mandolin to play, a so called ‘sissy instrument”  He became a master at the mandolin. I love hearing those old records of Bill’s mandolin playing and singing.

He started out as a member of the Monroe Brothers before breaking out on his own and forming his own group-Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys.

Monroe would perform for 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. He was by all accounts a real tastmaster. A perfectionalist. A lot of people who are great at something are not easy to get along with.