ROLLINSVILLE -- It’s October 1939. The Grand Ole Opry had just relocated to the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, designed to seat 2,200 people. This barn dance event had already expanded its performances and its partnership with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for over a decade.
On October 14th, interest in the Opry grew even more when NBC broadcast a half-hour segment, the first time the show aired on their national network. The Opry, their sponsor National Life, and the sponsor’s radio station WSM set regular Saturday night segments in motion.
The national broadcast of this show launched the notoriety of already well-known performers in the United States even further, and musicians from around the country wanted to be cast members for the performances. Enter Bill Monroe.
Monroe was already a seasoned performer, having performed for over half his life. For many years, he played in a duo with his brother, Charlie, building an audience performing on the Charlotte, North Carolina, radio station WBT.
In 1938, Bill dissolved the duo and formed his own project. He called his new band The Blue Grass Boys, inspired by the nickname of his home state, Kentucky. That nickname, the “Bluegrass State,” was itself adopted from a plant introduced to the state by European settlers.
On a Monday morning, shortly after the Opry’s first national broadcast, Bill, travelling from Greenville, South Carolina, stopped in Nashville and walked into the National Life lobby. He played a few songs for the Opry’s founder, George D. Hay, and WSM staff members, Harry and David Stone, and they were instantly captivated.
In 1975, Bill recalled that when he finished performing, the judges told him he had the exact kind of music that National Life and the Opry needed. The judges boosted Bill’s confidence by telling him that if he ever left the station, he would have to fire himself.
Bill joined the Opry’s cast on October 28, becoming a fixture of the Opry for decades to come. The original lineup of his Blue Grass Boys consisted of himself on mandolin and also included fiddle, bass, and guitar, eventually adding banjo. Throughout their tenure, the band consistently changed lineups, continuing to build on their sound.
On December 8, 1945, Bill and his Blue Grass Boys performed with debuting members Earl Scruggs on banjo and Lester Flatt on guitar. The twist the band put on their sound in this new lineup stuck with audience members.
In 1948, Flatt and Scruggs parted ways with the group and formed their own unit. From there, the story goes that fans of the duo wanted to hear songs they recorded with the band, despite lingering tensions from the split.
Some accounts say that fans requested “the Blue Grass songs,” while others say that disc jockeys, recognizing the difference in tone from country music, started calling the music “bluegrass.” Regardless, the foundations had been laid for the style of music we now know as bluegrass.
The Blue Grass Boys stopped performing after Bill Monroe passed away in 1996. In 1989, Monroe won the first-ever Grammy award for Bluegrass Recording (now Bluegrass Album) for his album Southern Flavor. To this day, he is still considered the “Father of Bluegrass.”
There are plenty of ways to celebrate bluegrass locally. If you’re interested in jumping into an open jam, then be sure to head to Howlin Wind Brewing and Blending, located at 51 A Main Street in Rollinsville, on Sunday, June 8, 2025, starting at 4 p.m.
The majority of the information in this article was sourced from the book 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry by Craig Shelburne and The Members of The Grand Ole Opry.
