Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass

by Richard D. Smith

Considering the range of stars that have claimed Bill Monroe as an influence—Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Jerry Garcia are just a few—it can be said that no single artist has had as broad an impact on American popular music as he did. For sixty years, Monroe was a star at the Grand Ole Opry, and when he died in 1996, he was universally hailed as "the Father of Bluegrass." But the personal life of this taciturn figure remained largely unknown. Delving into everything from Monroe's professional successes to his bitter rivalries, from his isolated childhood to his reckless womanizing, veteran bluegrass journalist Richard D. Smith has created a three-dimensional portrait of this brilliant, complex, and contradictory man. Featuring over 120 interviews, this scrupulously researched work—a Chicago Tribune Choice Selection, New York Times Notable Book, and Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2000—stands as the authoritative biography of a true giant of American music.

Genres: Music, Biography, History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

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Reviews

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't You Hear Me Calling: The Life Of Bill Monroe, Father Of Bluegrass by Richard D. Smith (Little, Brown & Co. 2000)(Biography). Bill Monroe was a star of the Grand Ole Opry for sixty years. When he died in 1996, he was universally lauded as "The Father of Bluegrass." A proud native of Kentucky, he was an enigmatic man. As a young adult, he was gruff, unapproachable, and downright unfriendly. Yet as he aged, he mellowed. He neither smoked, drank, or used drugs; his principal vice was that he was a perpetual womanizer. Yes, he was a skirt chaser in the worst way. Touring as much as 200 days a year with his band the Blue Grass Boys, he always left his wife at home on the farm and openly took a woman on tour with him. He was married four times and had at least one illegitimate child. Nobody could hold a grudge longer than Bill Monroe, according to this biography. Yet for all his faults, he created one of the sweetest genres of popular music: bluegrass, an instrumentally-driven offshoot of country music. He will never be forgotten, My rating: 7/10, finished 8/29/14.
My son Andrew gifted me with a copy of this book. I just reread this book and finished it on 7/3/20. In good conscience I have to increase this score to 7.5/10, which by my scoring makes it an exceptional book. When I reflect on how many of my favorite musicians have pledged alliegance to Bill Monroe, I am happy to admit that he is the King of Bluegrass. My rating 7.5/10, finished 7/3/20. PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exhaustive and certainly interesting narrative of the long life of Bill Monroe. Being recommended to me by my brother who thought I would be interested in the genealogical aspect that opened the book, I slogged through the entire book that at times bored me with its alphabet soup details of this radio station and that music organization that did something with Monroe's music. Since I am not a regular listener to most of Bill Monroe's songs (I recognized many of the titles as I read them, but not all of them), I was not struck by the impact of the introduction of each song as I'm sure was intended.

The book and intellectual writing style is obviously intended to endear the reader to Bill Monroe, and to elicit sympathy, but I think the very intellectual nature of the writing was what turned my empathy for Monroe off (that, of course, combined with his un-Christian womanizing behavior). Now, I can easily sympathize with rural poor farming people, and when poor circumstances result in people engaging in poor and ungodly decisions, I can continue to sympathize with them. However, in trying to establish respect for Monroe, the author seemed to be "trying too hard;" while never exactly approving of Monroe's actions, he did excuse them (Monroe "needed" all these women because of his past experience with abandonment). And the author did all this with an obviously secular perspective (it's painfully obvious when secular intellectual authors try to explain rural Christianity), and in doing so failed to address any problems viewed through a Christian lens--even when discussing Monroe's "spiritual" experiences.

That being said, all the facts about the life of Bill Monroe were there. Yet in tackling the massive project that is analyzing Bill Monroe's personality and motivations, having an anti-God intellectual perspective really doesn't cut it for me, and won't make Monroe endearing in my eyes. Certainly doesn't make me want to listen to his songs that come straight from illicit affairs.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since last year, I've been trying to go through a loosely chronological study of country music starting with The Carter Family. This study mostly consists of reading biographies of the biggest names in the music, with general books thrown in (A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music, U.S.A., etc.).
Since then, I've read books on the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Grand Ole Opry. Now I've jumped my timeline a little bit, because I just bought a mandolin and I would like to know as much about Monroe as possible.

Can't You Hear Me Calling does not disappoint. After I finished the book, I felt like I knew Bill better than people who were close to him. Monroe was famous for his stoic facade, Richard D. Smith show us the real Monroe in his full contradictory glory. Bill does not have the overall great story that the Carter family or Rodgers has, but Smith makes up for this lack of a compelling plot line by showcasing Bill's complexly fascinating personality.

That is not to say that the plot line is not good or uninteresting. It's very entertaining and never feels like work to read. Arguably the most interesting part is Bill's childhood. Bill's loneliness, fear of rejection, and neglect are simply painful to imagine. Smith's book covers not only Monroe but a lot of bluegrass history as well. Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, and others are prominently featured as well.

Something particularly fascinating to me was Bill's influence of rockabilly and rock n'roll. Carl Perkins, of whom I am a huge fan, said "Rock & roll music is a derivative of rockabilly music; rockabilly music is Bill Monroe and the blues tied together. That's it."

There you have it. If you are interested in rock music history, country, bluegrass, American music, or mandolin this is a solid read that will open up your eyes and show you new things. The way Bill taught his new Blue Grass boys was by having them watch him, and this book provides such an opportunity.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I'm learning while going through a series of biographies on old country music stars is that they're all assholes.

This is the rule with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe in his biography "Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass" by Richard D. Smith. Monroe had a long 60-year career in bluegrass and country music being relatively important for at least more than half of those years and appropriately revered for the last 10 years. He was the progenitor for a genre of music that closely defines America and spawned so much great music.

He hated foul language. He didn't drink, smoke or do drugs.

And yet it would be pretty hard to find a bigger son of a bitch in music history. His womanizing was legendary. But it's one thing to sleep with a bunch of women and think nothing of it. But he attached himself to these women, created relationships and, in turn, precipitated certain promises of fidelity.

Instead, he left long-time companions on the side of the road, destitute and caring little for where they ended up as he leaned on his career and ability to bedevil women his whole life.

I can't take much from the man knowing what he did in music, but if Bob Dylan was a murderer or if Elvis Presley were an SS officer at a concentration camp, wouldn't we think of these people differently? Sure.

Smith did a wonderful job of not glossing over Monroe's curmudgeonly attitude and rudeness that he displayed pretty much his whole life. Yet, it's all kinda overshadowed because he could play the mandolin. Had he been a farmer, nobody would've given a flying flip about the guy or cared whether he lived or died.

[King Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I've read both this biography and Tom Ewing's, I can talk about the pros and cons of each.

The primary difference is the scale: micro versus macro perspectives of Bill's life. Ewing writes from an impressively dedicated micro, but within the intricacies of so many details, it's more difficult to pick out patterns or life changes - that's the inherent difficulty of micro lenses. Sometimes it meant I had difficulty following or remembering the overarching gist of what was going on in Bill's life. Smith's older biography (though still dated from 2000) writes from a macro level, and not only that, but hones in on trends and themes connecting the events of Bill's life. It makes Bill's life and progression feel very clear, which is great.

However, in the act of extracting out trends and themes, Smith's book is more interpretative. Ewing seeks a higher level of objectivity, whereas Smith takes events in Bill's life and suggests they are part of Bill's lifelong struggles with loneliness, finances, multi-pronged romantic engagements, pride, or his dualistic nature. Some of Smith's extractions are well-grounded on evidence and interviews, but others are clearly his own interpretation or added symbolism. I highly doubt there's anything to be deeply psychologically gleaned from the fact Bill's favorite farm activity was setting up fences, but Smith used this as a bounce-back point to return to his theme of Bill's loneliness and keeping people at a distance.

There is absolutely a place for speculation and interpretation within biographies, and Smith does an overall good job knowing his place. Sometimes, though, I feel like Smith's interpretations get in the way of distinguishing clear fact from his speculation. It complicates, or on rare occasions, obfuscates the presentation of helpful objective truth. This becomes most apparent when comparing Smith's biography to Ewing's later chronicle. Smith engaged in an impressive number of personal interviews with key people, not to mention also reading deeply into published literature on the bluegrass world. But inevitably, there were some gaps in Smith's knowledge that Ewing, with his later research, tweaked and clarified.

This means that Smith and Ewing may present the same events with notably different flavors; it's a combination of how much information the authors knew, which facts and accounts the authors believed over others, which facts and accounts the authors shared, how the authors perceived Bill as a person, and how much they interpreted between the lines from the facts they knew. The biggest juxtaposition, I felt, was how they explained Bill's marriage to Carolyn. The information Smith had about Bill and Carolyn hooking up, combined with how he wanted to interpret the themes of Bill's life, led to a somewhat negative implication that promiscuous Bill had a short fling with Carolyn and could have been pressured into marriage because of a baby on the way (and maybe even Carolyn's indignant father intervening). Ewing described Carolyn and Bill as being loyal to one another, traveling together as Bill switched radio stations, grounding themselves as a common law marriage, having their first child, and then filling out the minor legal details of a marriage certificate. The information Ewing used eradicated Smith's between-the-lines stick-to-the-themes interpretation of Bill Monroe.

(But! Smith was still basing his material on Carolyn off what friends and family had said in interviews.)

This is, of course, the wonderful nature of multiple biographies and continuous research: even a book with as many thorough interviews as Smith had, could be expanded upon by the enthusiasm Ewing brought to his second, later biography.

And in some cases, the most correct information might be a combination of what both these men gleaned from their sources.

Ultimately, I found reading Smith's biography on Monroe just as important, helpful, and enjoyable as reading Ewing's biography on Monroe. I do think readers need to understand facts here and there might be "outdated" or "incomplete," or fused with Smith's interpretations, but all of this is valuable material, too. Lots of what I suspected about Bill's character from Ewing, or Bill's life patterns, became clarified in Smith's material. It was great to see these analyses bluntly stated out. His interpretations of who Bill was, what Bill's follies were and what Bill's strengths were, made me understand the Father of Bluegrass all the more. I read new stories, got a new perspective on information I'd heard before, and solidified my knowledge on bluegrass history.

I think Smith also overall strikes a fair balance between admitting Bill's faults and highlighting Bill's strengths. Smith is aware the Father of Bluegrass was flawed, but maintains an obvious, enormous amount of respect for the subject of his work. There are times I think the reverence hits slightly too far (only slightly!) - in both Smith's defense of Bill's actions and interpretation of events - but it's very good and solid material. We get the ups and the downs, the whole Bill.

On rare occasion, some of the amusing, possibly "apocryphal" stories of Bill Monroe, like Bill potentially confusing donuts and bagels, make their way into this book, but not without citations and an impressive amount of interviews done from the people closest to Bill. I love those sorts of stories entering books, too; I find it a shame when they're forsaken for dryer facts. It's okay to tell urban legends, the festival stories people swap at bluegrass events - and in fact not recording those stories would be a shame. We should store all of what humans want shared. It's our folklore and we have a right to it. Instead of me trying to dig through YouTube and ten year old forums for the stories that don't make it into books, it's nice... to see those stories in books.

The heart of any human is in their day-to-day interactions, so getting a glimpse into Bill's quirks, everyday lifestyle, and amusing little road incidences... added so much character to this book. Smith is by and large an engaging storyteller. Him occasionally flaunting (what some might call) more posh verbiage does not override how he makes events feel like they're passing before your eyes - as good as any fiction novel.

The epilogue of Bill's funeral was especially touching. It was emotional, respectful, well-narrated, filled with heart. A perfect end to this biography.

[Robbie Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, but certainly an apologia for Monroe's shabby treatment of women, several generations of musicians he played and competed with, and pretty much everyone he came into contact with in the music industry. Got the sense that Smith learned a lot about Monroe's orneriness but did not want to tarnish the myth too closely. I did love all the palace intrigue in the Blue Grass Boys about who Bill's favorite fiddlers and singers etc. were at any given time. And the description of the country music business in the 1930s and 1940s (long stints by bands at radio stations for a weekly show sponsored by some sort of country-popular consumer product, like laxative crystals) was fascinating. As was the material about Monroe's childhood in Kentucky. I love books that take you inside the head of someone who is creating a massive, revolutionary movement, but who doesn't really know it at the time. Monroe was especially like that.

[Jason Luellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a reading and book signing a number of years ago but never got around to reading it until recently. I'm glad I finally did.

I have been a casual bluegrass fan for a while and enjoyed learning more about the "Father of Bluegrass" and arguably the grandfather of rock 'n roll. His womanizing, famous feud with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and stories about musicians he influenced either directly as members of his Blue Grass Boys or indirectly as fans are all here. Even Jerry Garcia traveled to Bill's Brown County Jamboree in 1964 planning to audition to play banjo for the Blue Grass Boys but couldn't muster the courage to meet with Monroe. What if?

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a terrific book. It moved right along and gave detail where it was appropriate and left out detail where it would have been merely salacious and not relevant to the music. There was actually some musical information, e.g., keys played in and harmony notes chosen, without becoming too technical for the non musician. There was a discography and bibliography and a great deal of information about many of the other players in bluegrass music. Anybody out there with an interest in truly American music from the perspective of one of its greatest progenitors should read this.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a fascinating life story, not the best writing style. I got annoyed by the chronological-but-not-quite flow of the book, the constant "little did he know this man would change his life..." revelations, and how EVERY TIME a new person was introduced, we were told all the details of their birth and upbringing. I know that's sometimes important to the story, but please spare me if it's not. Great amount of research, though.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unplanned end-child in a large family with no one to be a playmate and no one with time to nurture him.
All the people close to him who showed him some care and affection seemed to leave him.
Constantly insecure. Driven. Fiercely dedicated to his art.
Yet he rose to be a well respected, well know musician, vocalist and band leader, a legend in his time. Sometimes called the father of the old style county music.

[Anthony Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more engaging bios of another "all-in-or-not-at all" musicians, like Hank Williams, or Charlie Parker, who just could not stop exuding music 24/7. But unlike Parker, Williams, and others suchlike, , Monroe managed to avoid the self-destructive impulses common among such artists. Makes me wish I tried one of those Loar F-5s at Carters in Nashville last Summer! (One more thing to add to my bucket list.)

[Kevin Montavon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of the Father of Bluegrass told in page-turning detail. From his early life in the hills of Kentucky to his early career with his brothers and finally to the creation of Bluegrass, stories of the original Blue Grass Boys, and his long storied career, this is a book no music fan, and certainly no fan of country music or bluegrass should miss out on reading.

[Felice Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun biography that puts you right in the middle of the action. His writing style has the flavor, pace and old-timey grace of the early years of bluegrass. If you're a fan of the genre, this is a must-read.

I've heard that there was some minor backlash over the author's frank discussion of Bill's personal life, but I was glad for the dose of reality.

[Gregory Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched work covering the life and times of one of my musical heroes. This work isn't for everyone, but for those interested in the bluegrass music genre or the Nashville scene, it is a must read!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 points - 3. Jerry Garcia (Musician) - Born August 1, 1942 – Read A Fiction or Non-Fiction Book about A Musician or Band.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and warmly written look at Monroe's personal life, his bandmates, and his music. I really enjoyed it.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book for any music lover. The story of how one man created a genuinely American form of music.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book!

[Gregory Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever listened to bluegrass music, you'll know the name of Bill Monroe. While he is credited with being the "Father of Bluegrass," there's a lot more to the man that is evident in Richard D. Smith's biography. This is an excellent biography of an American master musician.

There's a theme that goes through this book of lonesomeness. Fans of the genre know of the iconic "high lonesome sound" and Smith makes a convincing biographical case that Monroe's lonesome sound comes from his life's experiences. It's incredibly well done. Between the stories of performances and goings-on around Monroe's remarkable career, there are glimpses into Monroe the man.

The strength of the biography is that it shows Monroe for all of his greatness in music and masculinity, yet also it shows him for his weakness in infidelity. Yet even in discussing that greatness and weakness, Smith shows Monroe's theme of loneliness as a common thread. His lonesomeness made him a strong band leader and good mandolin player as he struck out with his own independent streak. His lonesomeness made him unfaithful because he always wanted someone to come home to and far too often he kept his options open in that regard. It's an explanation without judgement and it comes across as quite convincing.

The book overall mentions hundreds of songs and performances that are worth exploring as well. Monroe's life was full of brushes with other great musicians and, of course, the iconic Grand Ole Opry. The book explores musical storylines without obsessing over music theory or trivialities. It keeps the story of Monroe the man front and center.

I would certainly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of bluegrass and/or country music. It's a must-read for musicologists of American folk or bluegrass music. It's also an important book for people interested in folk revival and the bluegrass resurgence of the early 21st century. Bill Monroe was a pioneer in music in a way that echoed his hard work growing up on a hardscrabble southern farm. The beautiful mixture of mythology, good storytelling, and brightly spiritual moments throughout his life make this an absolute joy of a read.

[Thomas Hanslowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid and readable biography of one of the most important founding figures of bluegrass music. Smith takes us through Monroe’s lonely rural childhood through the end of a long and exhausting career full of ups and downs and nonstop touring. I liked the attention to Monroe’s early musical influences, ranging from fiddle playing family members to the Black blues musician and mentor Arnold Schultz. It was also interesting learning more about the early country music industry, when bands would show up and audition for radio stations and hope to score a big flour sponsorship. There’s also a good amount of attention paid to sidemen. Smith explains what made Earl Scrugg’s banjo playing so innovative and how Kenny Baker’s smooth polished playing differentiated him from the rougher, more energetic sound of some of Monroe’s other fiddlers.

The tone of the book was a sometimes strange mix of hagiography and brutal honesty. Smith doesn’t sidestep around Monroe’s chronic womanizing, the use of blackface comedy in his earlier acts, his tendency to hold grudges, or his sometimes thoughtless treatment of longtime collaborators. And yet it’s usually coupled with an eagerness to apologize for Monroe. For example, he’s at pains to say that while Monroe was constantly cheating on all of his wives he never made moves on his sidemen’s wives, and he tried to argue that in spite of his use of racist comedy Monroe himself was not racist because he hired a Black sidemen and treated him well. His principal argument is that Monroe is one of the most important and influential figures in American music, founding the bluegrass genre and influencing country, folk, and rock ‘n’ roll along the way and he makes a pretty good case.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough and detailed book about the Father of Bluegrass. Annotations and cited sources help to confirm the stories. The information within the book certainly describes the character and the charisma of this notable musician. Because of this book I have grown more into Bluegrass, both playing and listening. Many other notable musicians were mentioned in the book, and as such I'm looking forward to the upcoming Doc Watson book.

[Dana Rail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bluegrass/Newgrass has always been my favorite "subgenre" of Country Music. After watching Ken Burns' marvelous documentary on COUNTRY MUSIC, I got the itch to find out more about a couple of key players, and so a bio of Bill Monroe, "the father of Bluegrass", seemed like the obvious first choice.

This is an excellent overview of both Monroe and the development of Bluegrass music.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished. This was a very detailed biography….dense, not boring! I enjoyed researching and listening to the various recordings referenced throughout the book as much as I enjoyed reading it. Must read for the old-time enthusiasts.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the entertainment/music business during the late 20th century, roots music, 20th century rural America, or biographies of fascinating people, as I am, this is a read for you.

[William Dearth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indispensable if you are a fan of the great Bill Monroe.

[Travis Kahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on Bill Monroe and the history of bluegrass music. Monroe’s fascinating life story is told in expert fashion.

[Patrick Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who was Bill Monroe? Everyone who knows anything about country or bluegrass music knows the name but do you know the man? Most likely not. This book sheds light on who he was. What made the man tick from his childhood and throughout the hardships of his adult life.

A fiercly proud man and an extremely hard worker who demanded as much from his band as he did himself. This book points out the reasons behind many of the stories and the roots of the legends. It also shows Bill Monroe in all his glory as well as all his shame. It points out his faults as well as his strengths. Addressing many of the events of his life with candor.

Overall this was a really good book. If there was one thing keeping me from giving this book five stars it was the fact that the author was found of making statements like "i'm sure Bill must have felt......". Of course he had done extensive research but I felt at these points he inflected too much of his own opinion. Does he really think he knew what Bill Monroe was feeling? Most of his relatives didn't. Beyond that, I recommend this book for good reading on the subject of Bill Monroe. Read it with a few more books on the subject and get a well rounded opinion of this man.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great biography of the "Father of Bluegrass."