I've been reading Kinney Rorrer's book- Rambling Blues: The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole. Here's a quote about three-finger banjo which Charlie played:

"Poole's three-finger roll had now evolved to a higher level pointing to the development of of bluegrass music, with its fast twin fiddle breaks and banjo breaks. The fact that Poole was playing the melody rather than his usual ragged back-up made these performances the most revolutionary yet."

Rorrer is referring to Poole's May 1929 sessions for Columbia.

It appears Poole had been influenced by the "classical style" banjo players of the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Could this mean that Charlie Poole is in fact an originator of bluegrass music? This would assume that the three-finger style is a partial definition of bluegrass music as it would be named during the Monroe/Scruggs era.

What do you think?

Richie