History of Bluegrass | Bay Area Bluegrass Association

Bluegrass is a subset of country music, traditionally played on acoustic string instruments like guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle (violin), and upright bass (string bass).
The bluegrass style began in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The genre likely takes its name from Kentucky bluegrass, a species of plant native to central Kentucky. Early pioneer Bill Monroe hailed from "the Bluegrass State" and called his nascent group Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys. Key figures in early bluegrass also hailed from eastern Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Today, bluegrass songs are played around the world as a celebration of Americana.
The genre of bluegrass did not emerge until the 1930s when artists like The Monroe Brothers (led by Charlie and Bill Monroe) began performing as a string band—a group anchored around guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and bass, with no drums. In 1939, the Monroes’s band appeared on the syndicated radio program Grand Ole Opry and introduced bluegrass to legions of country music fans nationwide.

Bill Monroe

American bluegrass musician, songwriter (1911-1996)

William Smith Monroe was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, who named their group for the bluegrass of Monroe's home state of Kentucky. He described the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin".

Birth name William Smith Monroe
Born September 13, 1911, Rosine, Kentucky, U.S.
Age at death 84 years