The Blue Grass Boys were the backing band for bluegrass mandolinist Bill Monroe. Active from 1938 until Monroe's death in 1996, the group are cited as one of the earliest and most influential groups of the bluegrass genre, which takes its name from the band's moniker. Over its 58-year tenure, the Blue Grass Boys included over 150 members, as well as numerous additional stand-in and guest musicians, many of whom have since been inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and/or Country Music Hall of Fame. At the time of their first recording in 1939, the group's lineup featured guitarist Cleo Davis, fiddler Art Wooten and bassist Walter "Amos" Garren; at the time of their first release in 1940, Monroe was backed by guitarist Clyde Moody, fiddler Tommy Magness and bassist Bill "Cousin Wilbur" Wesbrooks. The final lineup of the band featured guitarist Tom Ewing, banjoist Dana Cupp, fiddlers Robert Bowlin and Clarence "Tater" Tate, and bassist Ernie Sykes. Monroe died on September 9, 1996, at the age of 84.
History
1930s/1940s 1938–1939: Formation, beginnings and the Kentuckians After eight years performing as part of the Monroe Brothers with older brother Charlie, mandolinist Bill Monroe moved to Memphis, Tennessee in the summer of 1938 to form his own group. The first musician he hired was fiddler Bob "Handy" Jamieson in early July, who was soon followed by guitarist Bill Wesbrooks and bassist Chuck Haire, the two of whom shared lead vocal duties. The new quartet relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they performed on radio station KARK from July 15 to August 12 under the name of the Kentucky Blue Grass Boys. A second stint of eight weeks followed from September 26 to November 16, during which time they were named Bill Monroe and the Kentuckians. Once this spell had finished, Monroe moved again — this time to Atlanta, Georgia — to start a new version of his band.
The first musician Monroe hired once in Atlanta was guitarist Cleo Davis. After several unsuccessful auditions at local radio stations in the run-up to Christmas, the pair relocated to Asheville, North Carolina at the beginning of 1939, where they started a show on WWNC and adopted the name of Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (BGB). After playing for a few months as a duo, Monroe and Davis added Art Wooten on fiddle and Tommy "Snowball" Millard on jug, bones and spoons, with the pair debuting on WFBC in Greenville, North Carolina on May 8, 1939 — three days after the final date for WWNC. Millard left in July as his wife was expecting their first baby, with Walter "Amos" Garren replacing him as the group's first bassist. In October, the BGB moved to Nashville, Tennessee and successfully auditioned to join the Grand Ole Opry.
1939–1941: Early recordings and first musicians' strike On November 25, 1939, the BGB completed their first recording session, performing "Mule Skinner Blues" on the Grand Ole Opry stage. It was not released until 1994, however, when it was included on a retrospective box set. The band toured throughout early 1940, before Wooten was replaced by Tommy Magness that July and Garren made way for Bill Wesbrooks at the beginning of August. At the end of the month, Monroe also gave Davis notice, as he had arranged to hire Clyde Moody in his place. Moody officially joined on September 6, 1940. Around the same time, Clarence "Mac" McGar joined briefly as a second fiddler. In October, the band (without McGar) recorded their first four singles: "Mule Skinner Blues", "Cryin' Holy unto the Lord", "Dog House Blues" and "Tennessee Blues".
By September 1941, Moody had been replaced by Pete Pyle, while Art Wooten had returned from the U.S. Navy to take his place back from Magness. This lineup recorded the band's next four singles at a session in October: "Blue Yodel No. 7 (Fox Trot)", "The Coupon Song", "Shake My Mother's Hand for Me" and "Back Up and Push". Before the end of the year, the BGB were joined by second guitarist and harmonica player Elliott "Curly" Bradshaw, although he left shortly after the U.S. joined World War II that December. Pyle was drafted by the U.S. Army in February 1942, at which point Moody returned to take his place. Jay Hugh Hall played second guitar with the BGB briefly around the same time, joining alongside his former bandmate Moody. Wooten returned to active service in June, with Howard "Howdy" Forrester taking his place. The following month, the group added its first banjoist, David "Stringbean" Akeman. Forrester was drafted in August, although he continued performing until the next March, when he became eligible for active service. Carl Story joined in October 1942, while several other fiddlers stood in for Forrester on tour in early 1943, including Magness, McGar and Floyd Ethridge.
After Forrester's departure, Monroe hired Robert "Chubby" Wise as his official replacement. Stand-ins Story, Magness and Ethridge continued to perform in his place on occasion. Around the same time, Monroe hired Forrester's wife Wilene — who he nicknamed "Sally Ann" — and rehired Bradshaw for his first touring tent show. By the end of the season, both were full members of the BGB — Forrester having taken up the role as the band's first (and only) accordion player. Story's tenure ended in October 1943, when he too was drafted by the U.S. Navy. Before the end of the year, Wesbrooks was replaced by Howard Watts, who adopted the stage name "Cedric Rainwater". None of the BGB lineups during August 1942–November 1944 were able to record, due to an American Federation of Musicians strike.
1944–1948: The classic bluegrass band with Flatt and Scruggs
The musicians' strike officially ended on November 11, 1944. Before the end of the month, Clyde Moody left to start a solo career and Jimmy "Tex" Willis was brought in to take his place on the recommendation of Wise and Watts. The group completed their first recording session since 1941 — and first for Columbia Records — on February 13, 1945, tracking the singles "Rocky Road Blues", "True Life Blues" and "Blue Grass Special". Early the next month, Watts requested a leave of absence following the death of his father, with friends Willis and Wise joining him. They were temporarily replaced by guitarist Lester Flatt, fiddler Jim Shumate and bassist Andy "Bijou" Boyette. Watts returned in late-April, although Willis and Wise did not, at which point Flatt and Shumate became full-time members, and Bradshaw departed. Watts took another leave of absence in late-July when his wife was about to give birth to their first child, with Monroe's brother Birch brought in as his temporary substitute.
After the war ended in September, Shumate took a brief leave of absence for the birth of his second child. Monroe used various Grand Ole Opry fiddlers in his place, as well as Birch on occasion. That same month, Akeman enlisted in the army and was replaced by Jim Andrews, although within a few weeks the former had returned. He left again at the end of the tent touring season in early November to pursue comedy. Later that month, Howdy Forrester returned from service to retake his position, bringing his brother Joe along to take over bass duties while Watts was still on leave. Shumate remained for around a week as part of a three-fiddle lineup before leaving; his last day with the group was December 1, 1945, when he arranged an audition for Earl Scruggs to take over Akeman's vacated position.
A week after his audition, Scruggs became a member of the BGB. With Joe Forrester now on bass, Birch Monroe switched to second fiddle and bass vocals. The group continued touring in early 1946, before all three Forrester siblings left in March due to "the rigors of the road". Watts returned and, after a few shows without a lead fiddler, Wise returned in April. This new lineup would remain stable for the next two years, producing a string of successful releases which earned them the retrospective title of the "original" or "classic bluegrass band". The new incarnation's first two sessions took place on September 16 and 17, 1946, where they recorded singles including "Mansions for Me", "Blue Moon of Kentucky", "Blue Grass Breakdown" and "Heavy Traffic Ahead".
After the 1946 tent season, Watts took another break to care for his wife and son, with Birch Monroe taking over bass temporarily. Starting the following spring, this role was shared with James "Chick" Stripling, who remained until Watts returned in late-September. On October 27 and 28, 1947, the band recorded a string of new songs, including the singles "My Rose of Old Kentucky", "I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling", "When You Are Lonely" and "I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky". These would be the final sessions for this lineup, and the last to feature Flatt and Scruggs, as the American Federation of Musicians started a second strike on January 1, 1948, which prevented bands from recording for the rest of the year (an agreement was reached that December).
1948–1949: Second musicians' strike and lineup changes
In the wake of the second restriction on recording, the entire lineup of the BGB changed. First, in January, Wise left to join former Clyde Moody's solo band, with Benny Martin—who had briefly filled in for Wise during some of the last shows of 1947—taking his place. The next month, Scruggs followed, playing his last show on February 21, 1948. The band tried playing with Tommy Goad and later Lloyd McCraw in place of Scruggs, before a brief period without a banjo player. Flatt and Watts also gave Monroe their notice at this time, remaining until mid-March. Just before they left, the group added Claude "Jackie" Phelps on steel guitar (to cover for the missing banjo) and brought in Joel Price as a temporary stand-in bassist, with both made full-time members upon Flatt and Watts' departures. Having heard the band performing without a banjo, Don Reno turned up at a BGB show on March 9 and performed with the group, with Monroe hiring him almost immediately.
Unhappy with Phelps' performance on lead vocals, Monroe hired Homer "Jim" Eanes in April, who had just spent a few weeks in the first lineup of Flatt and Scruggs' new band the Foggy Mountain Boys (for which Watts had also been enlisted). He only remained for a month, however, and was replaced by Doyle Wright during May and June; when he left too, Reno took over lead vocal duties. The lineup remained stable for the rest of 1948, touring as part of Monroe's last season with a tent show, before Phelps left in March 1949. Stan Hankinson—one half of the Kentucky Twins, who were touring with the BGB—filled in for around a month. In April, Phelps was officially replaced by Malcolm "Mac" Wiseman, another recent alumnus of Flatt and Scruggs' band. Around the same time, Mack Carger replaced Price, who had left to tour with singer George Morgan. By early-June, Martin had also left to work with Roy Acuff, replaced briefly by Floyd Ethridge and later Gene Christian.
Reno left the BGB in mid-July, at which point Wiseman took over as lead vocalist. The band played briefly without a banjo player again, before Rudy Lyle was hired in mid-August to take over. Around the same time, Wise returned on fiddle and Jack Thompson replaced Carger on bass. With the new lineup in place, the BGB recorded four songs on October 22, 1949, which made up two singles: "The Girl in the Blue Velvet Band/Blue Grass Stomp" and "Can't You Hear Me Callin'/Travellin' This Road". In mid-December, Monroe informed Wiseman that he was replacing him with Jimmy Martin, who had joined the related Shenandoah Valley Trio a few months earlier and featured onstage with the BGB a handful of times. Around the same time, Price returned on bass, as Thompson had chosen to leave.
1950s 1950–1952: First recordings for Decca