bill monroe

Auld GrassIn discussing American music of any kind, there are a few innovators whose names always arise - Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, Earl Scruggs, Chuck Berry. There're obviously others as well, but a complete list would take an entire day to compile. But never amongst these gentleman is the name of Bill Keith. Of course, the banjo doesn't have the luster about it that the instrument once did, but that doesn't make the contributions of this Bostonian any less important.

Beginning in the early '60s, Keith played with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys and basically redefined the way in which banjo was to be played in the genre over the span of less than a year. These innovations would basically lay the ground work for what would later be referred to as new grass. Of course, these musics are all still tied to country and folk music from the '20s and '30s, but with a defiantly modern tinge to it all. Read more