Bluegrass and the Role of Music and the Musician

Cindy Clark wrote:

BLUEGRASS MUSIC

In the early 1600’s, immigrants coming to America from Ireland, Scotland, and England brought with them the different types of music which are said to be the roots of bluegrass music. African American gospel music and blues are also considered to be roots of bluegrass music and African Americans are credited for the banjo which originated from an instrument called the banzas that was brought to America by African slaves. The new settlers wrote songs about life on the farm or in the hills and of their life in their new homeland. Their music became known as “mountain music” or “country music”, what we could also refer to as Old time music or traditional Folk tunes. This music stayed isolated within the rural southern mountains of America until radio introduced it to the rest of the country. The Monroe Brothers from Kentucky were popular in the 20’s. Bill Monroe played the fiddle and Charlie Monroe played the guitar. Their style of music included elements of Gospel, folk music, Country and Blues. The brothers split up in 1938 to form separate bands and Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys was born. The instruments they used were the guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin and banjo. Their music gained popularity, and in 1939 they appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. The name bluegrass comes from Bill Monroe’s band, the Blue Grass Boys, and he is considered the father of that style of music. But it was really in the early ‘40’s when a young musician named Earl Scruggs joined the band that bluegrass music took a definite form. Lester Flatt also joined the band and both Scruggs and Flatt were very influential in bluegrass music. Scruggs' three-finger picking style on the banjo has come to be known as “Scruggs style” banjo. Scruggs and Flatt eventually left Monroe’s band to form their own band, “The Foggy Mountain Boys” . They included the resophonic guitar or Dobro in their newly formed band. From 1948-1969 Flatt and Scruggs were a major force in introducing bluegrass music across the country by way of television, major universities and coliseums, and schoolhouse appearances. Scruggs wrote “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” which was used in the film Bonnie and Clyde and is considered “one of bluegrass music’s most famous instrumentals.” In 1969 Scruggs decided to go solo with his three sons. Together they formed “The Earl Scruggs Revue”. Lester Flatt continued on successfully with “The Nashville Grass” until his death in 1979. Bluegrass relies mostly on acoustic stringed instruments. Many considered the instruments Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys played to be the traditional bluegrass instruments. Bluegrass bands have included instruments such as the harmonica, accordion, piano, autoharp, drums, drum bit, and the electric guitar but these are considered to be more modern, not the traditional bluegrass style and is sometimes referred to as “Newgrass.” Bill Monroe died on Sept. 9, 1996. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in May, 1997 because of the profound influence his music has achieved in the music of America.

The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? takes place in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression. In the film, Ulysses is trying to get back home. Along his way, he comes across a radio station. He and his companions decide to earn some quick cash. Unknowingly their song is a hit and the owner of the station is ecstatic. He is anxious to find them before someone who could sign a record deal with them does. In the 30’s “new” performers were sought after by recording companies throughout the South. The music that emerged during this time period was a reflection of the social and cultural conditions that America was experiencing. During the Great Depression many people lost their homes or had to leave their home and move away in the hope of finding a job or some way to survive. The lyrics in the song, "Man of Constant Sorrow", echo the dire straits many Americans found themselves in.

I am a man of constant sorrow
I've seen trouble all my day.
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was born and raised.

For six long years I've been in trouble
No pleasures here on earth I found
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now.

It's fare thee well my old lover
I never expect to see you again.
For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I'll die upon this train.

To a displaced people music gave them the opportunity to reconnect, in a sense, to their homes and restored to them a sense of identity that had been lost in an uncertain world. There are many correlations between the music and what is happening in the film. I feel the music in the film plays a big part in helping to tell the story. Ulysses is trying to get home and as he encounters the blind man on the railroad the impression given is, he is about to embark on a spiritual journey as well. Even his companions get saved along the way and they pick up a blues' musician who claims to have sold his soul to the devil. The devil apparently looks a lot like the lawman hunting them down. Much of the music played throughout the film, gospel, blues, folk, bluegrass, and old time music, is spiritual. Old Time music or Traditional Folk music historically comes from the south and folk music evokes a sense of brotherhood among people. The setting in the film is in the south and there is also a sense of brotherhood that sets in among Ulysses and his companions. I think it is interesting that all of the music in the film is "exclusively roots music". The 1920’s and 1930’s was an important time in America in the history of music because American roots musical forms reached, according to musicologists, “their most diverse and expressive forms.” It is considered roots music because many other forms of music have grown from it, including rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
The music used in O Brother, Where Art Thou? is representative of that time in history and so it is with Homer’s The Odyssey. Homer calls on the Muse to tell the story of the many adventures of the man skilled in all ways of contending, Odysseus. "The Muses were representative of poetry, the arts and sciences and sources of inspiration.” There are many instances where the Muse is a source of inspiration. In Book VIII Demodocus, the blind singer/poet, is a storyteller at the court of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians. Although he has lost his natural sight, he is highly favored by the Muse and given a song more precious than sight; the gift of divine sight. The Muses were spoken of as “queens of song” and “gave birth to dialogue”, in essence they created what they sang about. In Homer’s time, music was used as a means to encourage the more civilized aspects of human existence such as hospitality and being kind to strangers. Homer created a code of conduct and ethnic identity for the Greeks. Role models such as Odysseus told them how to behave. Music was believed to elicit specific human behavior. Ancient Greeks were deeply religious and considered music a way of exalting the glory of God. Gospel and spiritual music is about glorifying God as well as some folk and bluegrass. Music played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greeks. Much the same way music from the 20’s and 30’s helped to shape American society and identity.