Irish & Arnie,

You're both correct regarding the history. The Carter Family used a lot of blues too. And of course Scottish and Irish influences really dominate bluegrass even with all the blues and jazz added. My point is none of the string music played before 1945 is bluegrass. It has a different beat, a different feeling, a different way of singing and totally different approach to the way instruments are used. It really came together because of the abilities and genius of Monroe and his band members at the time: Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater. When that band first stepped out on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry it would have been like the first time the Jimmy Hendrix Experience walk out on stage. No one had heard anything like it. Bluegrass seems commonplace and familiar to us now but only because of the time and musical adventures that have taken place in the last fifty years.

 & & & & & &- Mark