Musical Monday!

For Musical Monday, we listened to some Bluegrass Music.  This parallels our current study on Kentucky.  Here are the highlights of the history of bluegrass:

Music brought over by migrants from Ireland, Scotland and England in the 1600s are thought to be the roots of bluegrass music.  There is even African-American influence.  Slaves brought over the design of the banjo.

Over time, the settlers spread out to the Carolinas, KY, TN and the Virginias.  Along the way, and after creating homes among the hills, they began writing songs which depicted every day life.  These songs became known as “country music”.

Bluegrass began becoming known as separate from country music in the late 1930’s and mid 1940’s.

Bill Monroe (a native of Kentucky-the bluegrass state) and the Bluegrass Boys is considered to be the first bluegrass band.  They incorporated the fiddle, guitar, bass, mandolin and banjo.

( the above pic is taken from google images; but I have included its url as a hyperlink in case you want to read that post as well. Just keep in mind, I have no connection whatsoever to the linked site.  I just want to give the proper credit for this image.)

                                                                                                                                                  For more information on this energetic and fascinating genre of music, visit The International Bluegrass Music Museum website, or drop by Owensboro, KY to tour the museum.