The Best Bluegrass Band

Robert Gilchrist Huenemann

January 6, 2006

The best bluegrass band of all time was Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys during the period from approximately March 1966 and August 1967. During this time, Peter Rowan played guitar, Richard Greene was the fiddler, Lamar Grier played the banjo and James William Monroe played bass.

Did this band have weaknesses? Obviously. But it had enormous strengths. First was Peter Rowan’s rock solid guitar. It made up for other deficiencies in the rhythm department. Second was the duet singing of Peter Rowan and Bill Monroe, which stands up to any of the brother acts, bar none. And third was Richard Greene’s fiddling, which has never been equaled. His Orange Blossom Special and Beaumont Rag would place him in the very top rank of fiddlers even if he had played them the same way every time. But he never played them the same way twice. Kenny Baker said that bluegrass is the jazz of country music. If that is true, then the improvising of Greene and Monroe make this the truly definitive bluegrass band.

Unfortunately, this band spent relatively little time in the studio. But they played six hours of live performances on the Grand Old Opry. If you have heard those performances, you will have to agree with my assessment. A small taste of this material can be found on Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40063, bill monroe and the bluegrass boys live recordings 1956-1969 off the record volume 1. Here this band contributes track 11, Watermelon on the Vine and track 14, I Live in the Past. Monroe, Rowan and Greene recorded track 15, Wayfaring Stranger. The call and response second break shared by Monroe and Greene on Wayfaring Stranger is totally different from the Opry performance and exemplifies the improvisation which set them above other bluegrass musicians. And the vocal duets are guaranteed to make your hair stand on end.

But Monroe was not content to leave well enough alone. He often used two or even three fiddles. In the Opry performances, Greene is joined by Buddy Spicher, Bobby Hicks or Charlie Smith on many evenings. The apex of this genre occurred on December 17, 1966 when Spicher and Hicks joined Greene for a triple fiddle version of Roanoke. It smokes.

It is my fond hope that there are tapes of these performances in some Nashville warehouse and that someday they will be released. Meanwhile, you can get a taste of Richard Greene’s wizardry on the Seatrain and subsequent recordings. There you will find his Orange Blossom Special, Beaumont Rag and many other examples of his fiddle genius.

I have tried to learn some of Richard Greene’s licks, even if I can’t match his tempos. And of course I must painstakingly memorize the notes he played on the spur of the moment. This is as good a place as any to say thanks to the fiddlers who have given me a kind word of encouragement. Including Virgil Evans, John Stout, Leon Schweinfurter, Paul Shelasky and Daryl Anger, among others.

I am always interested in playing twin fiddle, either melody or harmony.

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