Monroe, Bill (1911–1996)

US country music singer and mandolin player. His innovative string-band style became known as bluegrass music in the mid-1950s, and in the 1960s he was a central figure in the establishment of bluegrass festivals nationwide. Among his songs, ‘Uncle Pen’ is a country music classic, and ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ was recorded by Elvis Presley for his first release in 1954.

Born near Rosine, Kentucky, he played with his uncle and other local musicians before moving to Chicago in 1929. In 1932, he joined an exhibition square dance team sponsored by radio station WLS, and between 1934 and 1938, he and his brother Charlie gained national popularity as hillbilly radio singers. In 1938 he formed the Blue Grass Boys and the following year he joined the Grand Ole Opry. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, he made numerous hit recordings of instrumentals, religious, and secular songs. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, and he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1981.