Just Like Old Times

Considering the epic feud -- or, was it? -- between these two, it's a wonder they ever got back together.

OTOH, perhaps it was inevitable. Many of the bluegrass faithful -- musicians, fans, and historians alike -- consider the Monroe/Flatt/Scruggs iteration of The Blue Grass Boys to be the first-ever bluegrass band.

Bill Monroe disputed that claim. Nevertheless, bluegrass bands revisit and remake the repertoire of this lineup more than any other. And, despite the brilliant lineups that came after, the only one that would cover as much artistic ground was the one featuring Jimmy Martin.

Unfortunately for the music, it is that feat of warp-speed artistic development that the bluegrass community has sought to emulate over the last 30 years -- so much so that most seem to have forgotten what real bluegrass sounds like.

Here, then, is an always-timely reminder: Lester Flatt with Bill Monroe, singing a bluegrass classic that they co-wrote – “Will You Be Loving Another Man?”