The Birth of Bluegrass Music

Peter Rowan has said, “When you are standing next to the fire that is Bill Monroe, you will ignite.”1  From the first time Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys stepped on the Grand Ole Opry stage on October 28th, 1939, and played Jimmie Rodgers’ “Muleskinner Blues” so fast that it astounded the Opry regulars who were standing in the wings and caused the crowd to demand an encore (an Opry first), everyone knew that they were witnessing something new, unique, and exciting.  The fire had definitely been lit.  From that first Opry performance in 1939 through the end of 1945, Monroe’s fire continued to burn strong and steady.  But then, in December 1945, a young 21-year-old banjo picker from North Carolina named Earl Scruggs joined the group and doused that fire with gasoline.  In the PBS video documentary Big Family: The Story of Bluegrass Music, Del McCoury said, “The pieces were all there before Earl came.  He was the last piece and that was