How Bluegrass Grew

If a couple of college students named Mike Seeger and Ralph Rinzler hadn’t prodded Bill Monroe out of his bluegrass depression-era funk, moments like this might never have happened.

As it was, Monroe transformed himself over the years into a benevolent-ish bluegrass patriarch, sharing his musical wisdom with the generations that followed during post-show jams and random yet momentous encounters.

What was a dying, regional musical style became a movement, paving the way for musical pyrotechnics like this.

The Del McCoury Band, featuring mandolinist, Ronnie McCoury, joins Marty Stuart for a blistering version of Bill Monroe’s “Rawhide”.

What Retirement Sounds Like

Mandolinist and tenor singer, Paul Williams got his first big break with The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, and then, moved on to work with the man who would become his brother-in-law – the King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin.

Williams sang tenor on many of Martin’s greatest hits, and wrote just about as many of them.

When life on the road got to be too much, Williams hung up his traveling shoes, and went to work for the U.S. Postal Service. After he retired from the post office, he started a little bluegrass gospel band called The Victory Trio, releasing several well-regarded albums and burning up the festival circuit.

Over a decade later, he joined former Jimmy Martin sidemen, J.D. Crowe and Doyle Lawson to make two highly successful bluegrass albums, before Williams stopped touring for good.

He still makes rare appearances, including this one on Marty Stuart’s show last year – the year Williams turned 80.

So, why am I boring you with all this name-and-date stuff?

Because I want to show you what a huge lie it is that if you retire from music, you can never go back. I want to show you that you don’t have to hang it up after you reach official retirement age.

Again, Paul Williams was 80 years old when this was filmed; yet his phrasing is brilliant, his tone clear as a bell, his intonation rock solid, and his emotional impact undiminished after all these years.

This is a brilliant slice of classic country that Williams wrote, and originally recorded with Jimmy Martin. It’s called “What Was I Supposed To Do?”

Doc Watson wrote this tune, covered here by Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart – a consummate storyteller who offers a starry-eyed account of the first time he ever heard the “Watson Blues”.

Another challenging Monroe instrumental? Why not? This one features mandolin maniacs, Marty Stuart and Ronnie McCoury with the Del McCoury Band. Here’s “Rawhide”.