The Grass is Always Bluer

Bill Monroe died just over a decade ago - but his legacy is secure. He invented bluegrass music. And by inventing, I mean it did not exist before he came along. That kind of inventing. Not adapting, not transforming, not weaving together various threads of influence, he created an entire genre of music.

Bluegrass music was named after his band, "The Blue Grass Boys," and his home state of Kentucky.

Of course, mandolins and triple fiddles existed before Monroe, mostly in the Appalachian roots music, but his hard-won virtuosity with mandolin, and his regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry cemented the new genre's prominence.

Here's a clip of Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys from 1957: