[3NG]≫ [PDF] Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Richard Smith Richard D Smith 9780306810541 Books

Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Richard Smith Richard D Smith 9780306810541 Books

Download As PDF : Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Richard Smith Richard D Smith 9780306810541 Books

Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Richard Smith Richard D Smith 9780306810541 Books

Bill Monroe's life and career are endlessly fascinating for bluegrass enthusiasts and this book does not disappoint. It not only chronicles his life, the ups and downs of his long career, but also many of the songs he recorded and the background to them. The sad breakup with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs is chronicled here along with his rocky relationship with his older brother Charlie, with whom he partnered in the early days. While idolized as a larger than life figure by many, including those who worked with him, Bill Monroe also had his foibles, particularly in how he handled money and related to women, and these are not glossed over. Highly recommended!


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Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Richard Smith Richard D Smith 9780306810541 Books Reviews

Great book! I knew nothing about Bill Monroe. Now I feel like I have known him my entire life. We'll done.
very complete and fully informative of this megastar of Bluegrass-the information is high quality and fully informative -great reading
A well written and sensitively portrayed story of the life and times of Bill Monroe.

It rewards anyone wanting to better understand this great character, his relationships to the many and famous 'sidemen', his influence on popular music, the historical context of his songs, and the culture of lifestyle of a musician travelling the roads of the Southern USA.
Having been listening to Bill since the late 40's it's like going back in time and getting the full and complete story of all his ups and downs. Very well researched and reported.
This is the first major biography of Bill Monroe, and it won't be the last. Some, no doubt, will be written in more eloquent prose -- Richard D. Smith's is at best pedestrian -- but it's hard to imagine a future biography that could manage to be as balanced and as affectionate without ever sliding into sentimentality, apologetics, or hagiography. Though no sensible observer disputes the greatness of Monroe's music, some writers cannot resist snide treatments of the man's personal foibles and limitations, which were many. Smith does not hide Monroe's unattractive qualities, but he also shows his other side, which came more and more to the fore as Monroe gradually came to understand that, almost in spite of himself, he had become loved and revered. In other words, more than any other writer before him, Smith makes Monroe not just an icon, not just a difficult, imperious, narcissistic man, but a human being who struggled most of his life against the shadows cast by a bitter chldhood. The reader begins to comprehend why so many who knew Monroe cared so much about him, and Smith makes the reader care, too. By the end of the book, as Monroe is buried and mourned by the many whom his life and music touched, I felt emotionally drained and profoundly moved -- and newly grateful for the art that endures even after the artist is gone.
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 great man.
"Can't You Hear Me Callin'" is a fascinating biography. There's so much more information in it about Monroe than one finds from most sources. I know half a dozen men who worked for Monroe. They tell great stories, but I wish I'd heard the stories in the context of this book. I would have seen more facets. It's especially nice to have a better sense of the importance of women and being appreciated by women and sex in Monroe's life. This is a drive found in many famous men, and the average person seems not to understand that it should not be used against them--it's partly a part of them and partly apart from them. Not that Smith gives us any juicy details. I for one am glad for these women who shared themselves with Monroe.

Even though Smith has drawn together a large amount of information most of us don't have access to, he could not include everything. Will there ever be a greater Monroe biography? Probably not. But, as an example of what there is around that might have been included, Bob Black's interesting hagiography "Come Hither to Go Yonder" is an entire book by a banjo player who worked with Monroe for two years about their relationship, yet Smith doesn't even mention Bob Black. So may there will be many more books. I for one would love to read a book by Julia LaBella about their life together. She was twenty-one, he sixty-five. Go Bill!

And if you question whether Bill Monroe's music is significant enough to transcend Monroe's faults (and there were many, and he paid for them all), buy the MCA four CD set that Monroe approved and listen to it a few times. Monroe was more of "the real thing" than anyone else ever in bluegrass. Not a mediocre cut in sight.
Bill Monroe's life and career are endlessly fascinating for bluegrass enthusiasts and this book does not disappoint. It not only chronicles his life, the ups and downs of his long career, but also many of the songs he recorded and the background to them. The sad breakup with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs is chronicled here along with his rocky relationship with his older brother Charlie, with whom he partnered in the early days. While idolized as a larger than life figure by many, including those who worked with him, Bill Monroe also had his foibles, particularly in how he handled money and related to women, and these are not glossed over. Highly recommended!