biography
| name: |
Monroe, Bill
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popular name of William Smith Monroe
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1911– )
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| biography:
| Country music singer and mandolin player, born near Rosine, Kentucky, USA. He played with his uncle, Pen Vandiver, and other local musicians before moving to Chicago (1929). In 1932 he joined an exhibition square-dance team sponsored by radio station WLS, and during 1934–8 he and his brother Charlie Monroe gained national popularity as hillbilly radio singers. In 1938 he formed the Blue Grass Boys, and the following year he joined the Grand Ole Opry. Throughout the 1940s–50s, he made many hit recordings of instrumentals, and of religious and secular songs. His innovative string-band style became known as bluegrass music in the mid-1950s, and in the 1960s he was a central figure in the establishment of bluegrass festivals nationwide. Among his songs, ‘Uncle Pen’ is a country music classic, and ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ was recorded by Elvis Presley for his first release in 1954. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame (1970) and he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts (1981). |
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