The Original Bluegrass Band

The Original Bluegrass Band is a compilation album by American bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Released by Rounder Records in summer 1978, it features 12 songs recorded in September 1946 and October 1947, all of which were released between 1947 and 1949. The album is Monroe's first compilation to be made up entirely of recordings by the "classic lineup" of his band, with guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs co-credited on the album's sleeve.

Background

The Original Bluegrass Band is the first compilation made up exclusively of recordings by the 1945–1948 incarnation of Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. The title is a reference to the moniker given retrospectively to the lineup of guitarist and vocalist Lester Flatt, banjo player Earl Scruggs, fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, with whom Monroe is credited as having "created" the genre of bluegrass. All 12 tracks on the album had previously been released by Columbia Records subsidiary Harmony across three compilations: The Great Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys (1961), Bill Monroe's Best (1964) and The Original Blue Grass Sound (1965).

Track listing

Personnel

• Bill Monroe — mandolin, vocals (lead on tracks 1, 6 and 8; tenor on tracks 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9–12)
• Lester Flatt — guitar, lead vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9–12)
• Earl Scruggs — banjo (all except track 9), baritone vocals (track 9)
• Robert "Chubby" Wise — fiddle (all except track 9)
• Howard "Cedric Rainwater" Watts — string bass (all except track 9), bass vocals (track 10)
• Birch Monroe — bass vocals (track 9)

References

External links

• The Original Bluegrass Band at Discogs