Description
Book SynopsisA sensitive remembrance of bluegrass dreams and lessons
Trade Review"One cannot overrate the important of either the photographs or the memoir in terms of [Bill] Monroe, who is one of the most important American vernacular musicians of the last century. Highly recommended."--
Choice "A welcome addition to the growing list of bluegrass memoirs."--Bluegrass Unlimited
"The sense of an era that has passed, of a time now far distant when giants walked the earth and played the Grand Ole Opry is perfectly captured in dozens of rare and relishable on-stage and behind-the-scenes images."--
R2"Bluegrass insiders will delight in Lowinger's detailed descriptions of [Bill Monroe's] interactions alongside candid photographs."--
Sing Out!"An outstanding job in characterizing Bill Monroe in his stories, and the reader gets a good sense of what the life as a Bluegrass Boy in the mid-1960s must have been like, living and working with Monroe."--
Journal of Folklore Research"I've known Gene Lowinger since our early days in the urban bluegrass scene of the sixties. His photographs have always offered unique perspectives on unique subjects. Now they are skillfully melded with personal remembrances of his own singular career as a 'Jewish Blue Grass Boy.'"--David Grisman, mandolinist and composer
"A vivid, emotional, and poignant look at a unique era in bluegrass music, captured in words and photographs by a man who not only studied the music, but performed it and toured with the master as a member of his band."--Douglas B. Green (Ranger Doug), guitarist and vocalist of Riders in the Sky and author of
Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy"A fascinating meditation on the nature of creativity and mentorship. Intimate and moving, funny and profound, Lowinger's photographs powerfully represent the indomitable Bill Monroe in his last years as a performer."--Erika Brady, author of
A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed EthnographyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1. Beginnings, 1942-62 7
CHAPTER 2. Learning Bluegrass, 1963-65 14
CHAPTER 3. Nashville, 1965-66 22
CHAPTER 4. Home to Study Violin, 1966-92 42
CHAPTER 5. Back to Monroe, Bluegrass, and the Violin, 1991-96 57
CHAPTER 6. After Monroe, 1996 to the Present 72
Index 79
Illustrations follow pages 41 and 71
