Generally considered a variant of country music, bluegrass is a hybrid of old-time country and string-band music; British folk songs; improvisation and syncopation, reflecting the influence of blues and jazz; and a wide variety of popular commercial music. Although frequently considered “mountain music,” bluegrass was created by Bill Monroe in Rosine, Kentucky – far from the hills of Appalachia. Key instruments in the genre include the mandolin and the 5-string banjo.
Content is provided by McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina.
Audio
Recorded in 2003 in Columbia, South Carolina.
Photo
Wall began playing hillbilly and “old-time” music before it was dubbed bluegrass. He was one of eleven children in a family he described as not very musically oriented. As a teen, he cut his teeth...
Document
Produced by Bill Wells. 1980.
Audio
A song from "Are We Ready for the Calling".
Photo
Betty McDaniel is a life-long educator. She has degrees from the University of North Carolina, Clemson, and the University of South Carolina. She started her teaching career in 1974 and retired in...
Document
Produced by Bill Wells. Bill Wells - Guitar & Lead Vocal, Virgil Harrison - Fiddle & Vocal, John Cheney - Lead Guitar, Andy Cartoun - Banjo, Bobby Kay - Bass.
Photo
In December of 1985, Bill Wells – a retired Navy man and musician raised in the coal-mining region of southwestern Virginia – opened Bill’s Pickin’ Parlor and Music Shop in West Columbia. He...
Audio
A song from Sugar Hill - Remembering Bob Wills.
Audio
A song from Sugar Hill - Remembering Bob Wills. (Written by Fred Rose)
Audio
A song from the album Sugar Hill - Remembering Bob Wills. (Written by Nate Leath)
