Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 31, 1993 TAG: 9308240756
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SUSAN WHITE KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 90-minute special should have been a ``welcome to the family'' invitation to people who think country music begins with the twostep and ends with the achy-breaky.
Instead, it turns away novice fans by assuming that everybody watching already knows and loves Monroe and his music.
Not true.
The fans who have made country music one of the fastest-growing segments of the entertainment industry are more likely to have grown up with rock 'n' roll than with traditional country music. To them, the twang of Bill Monroe's mandolin harkens back to the days when country music fans were considered hillbillies by the rock 'n' roll crowd. To ears educated by modern-day country stars such as Wynonna and Billy Ray Cyrus, Monroe is an acquired taste. They don't know that they're missing the core of country music's soul.
Monroe was born in 1911 in Rosine, Ky., a small town about halfway between Owensboro and Elizabethtown. He and his brother, Charlie, made their radio debut in 1930, and in 1938 Monroe formed his own group, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.
The group joined the Grand Ole Opry the next year and went on to win awards and honors and to influence future generations of musicians. On the TV special Monroe, 81, talks about his friendship with Elvis Presley. In other segments, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs and Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia all discuss Monroe's effect on their music. Even the Beatles were influenced by his work.
The special opens with Monroe unpacking his mandolin on the porch of his Tennessee home. Without fanfare he begins playing in the straightforward manner that characterized so many musicians of his era. Clips from past performances show him more intent on making music than on ``performing.'' Sometimes he did a little fancy footwork, but more often he stood ramrod straight, engrossed in the work at hand.
Obviously Monroe loved that work and others responded to that love. The men who played with the Bluegrass Boys over the years speak of him with respect and affection, and TV viewers who are old enough to remember Monroe's heyday will remember how he delighted them with his unique and innovative style.
For country music novices, however, the special spends too much time talking about Monroe's impact on other musicians and too little time examining the source of his genius. We could have used more tales from his early years in Kentucky, more pictures of his family, more talk from him about music's importance in his life.
The full impact of Monroe's talent isn't felt until the show's finale, when he plays with singer/songwriter/guitarist Marty Stuart. The song is ``Southern Flavor,'' and the two men attack it with such fervor that the even the most detached viewers will be sucked into the performance.
Most country music newcomers won't see this segment, though, because they will bail out of ``Bill Monroe: The Father of Bluegrass Music'' before it reaches that point. The special is simply too long and too unwieldy to keep any but the most committed Monroe fans watching from beginning to end.
What a shame that more weren't invited to the party.
by CNB