Bluegrass: A History

by Neil V. Rosenberg

A history of bluegrass. Winner of the Country Music People Critics' Choice Award for Favorite Country Book of the Year and of the International Bluegrass Music Association Certificate of Merit.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Biography

443 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Alex Orr · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have noted, the biggest issue with this book is that it was written in 1985 and really hasn't been updated. Furthermore, while the earlier years are given extensive space, everything from about 1970 onward is glossed over fairly fast. There is a massive chapter devoted almost exclusively to analyzing how bluegrass music was featured in the Beverly Hillbillies and a few obscure student films in the sixties but nothing on Old and In The Way or the rise of bluegrass in the Rocky Mountain region. There is a literal year-by-year description of the trends in bluegrass festivals from around 1968-75 but Tony Rice, Sam Bush, and Jerry Douglas elicit about 4-5 sentences total in the whole book and the IBMA is never mentioned. It also bears the frequently stilted and slightly embarrassing marks of being written by an academic folklorist for a University press, though to be fair, it is written in a far more engaging style than that suggests. At the end of the day, I'm left wondering whether the casual bluegrass fan who is looking for a good history of the music would be well-served by this book. Certainly the earliest chapters on the music's origins within the broad scope of "hillbilly music" and the gradual divergent paths that bluegrass and country would follow hold up very well. Furthermore, the early coverage on the festivals is good and if nothing else, the latter chapters glossing over the DC scene and the rise of a number of important indie labels in the seventies is informative. However, there are a number of lengthy sections can be best described as tedious and repetitive, and in many cases serve as a reflection of the concerns of the bluegrass community forty years ago. Given that there doesn't appear to be a serious successor to this book, I suppose it's worth recommending to someone if they are REALLY serious about getting into the weeds of bluegrass's early history with the acknowledgement that it's not always the most interesting or timely book. If anything what it really shows is that the time is probably right for either a new comprehensive history of the genre going up to the present day, or a radical update of this edition that drastically cuts a number of sections while adding some comprehensive info on the last thirty years of the genre's history.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly loved this book rather than really loved it, so I should have given it three stars in order to be totally accurate. The first portion was highly interesting to me as a fan of bluegrass music. I'm also a guitar player and budding banjo player who is at least somewhat familiar with a lot of the artists mentioned in the book. I think this would read more like a text book to the average reader without a sincere interest in the subject, and truth be told, it did largely to me as well and the final pages were a chore to get through. Way too much discussion of the festivals in my opinion. Still worth it though.

[Kevin Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authoritative work on the history of bluegrass. Mostly a "just the facts, ma'am" style, which is great for orienting yourself to the genre and surprisingly readable for an "academic" text.

[LInda L · Rating 4 out of 5]

See Alex Orr's review. It was perfect.

[Bradthad Codgeroger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly comprehensive examination of bluegrass music from its "origins" in the 1940s to 1984. Written by a folklorist, so you know it has lots of words.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive book on the history of Bluegrass Music

[yórgos]

η τζαζ της κάντρυ σύμφωνα με τους ειδήμονες. πληθώρα βιβλιογραφίας και δισκογραφίας.