A Little Taste of Bluegrass Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe was born in Roscine, Kentucky, on September 13, 1911. In 1934, with his two brothers, Birch (on fiddle), Charlie (on guitar), and Monroe (on mandolin), they were offered fulltime employment at radio WLS in Chicago. Shortly after, Birch quit music, but Charlie and Bill regrouped calling themselves the Monroe Brothers.

In 1938, the brothers parted ways, and Bill, with his newly formed group, the Kentuckians, moved to KARK Radio in Atlanta, Georgia. It was in Atlanta that the Blue Grass Boys evolved.

In 1939, Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys were invited to join the Grand Old Opry. In 1945, banjo picker Earl Scruggs joined the group. By 1946, the Blue Grass Boys consisted of one of the finest string and vocal bands ever assembled, with Monroe on mandolin and tenor vocals, Earl Scruggs on banjo, Lester Flatt on lead vocals and guitar, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Cedric Rainwater (aka Howard Watts) on stand-up bass.

Answer: The Clinch Mountain Boys

Together the Stanley Brothers made some of the most beautiful music in bluegrass. With Carter on guitar and Ralph on banjo, they formed the Stanley Brothers in 1946. Perfecting their own rich style of mountain music with their group, The Clinch Mountain Boys, they recorded and traveled throughout the 1950's and 1960's.

In March of 1966, the Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys played at London's Royal Albert Hall. Sadly, Carter Stanley died of cancer that December. Ralph has kept their music alive heading up The Clinch Mountain Boys.

He was inducted into the National Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1992.

Answer: Mandolin

Bill Monroe was taught to play the mandolin as a small child.

Answer: Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs

In 1948, both Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe's Blue Grass Boys and formed their own group. Recruiting ex-Monroe men Jim Shumate (on fiddle), and Howard Watts (on bass), they moved to Hickory, North Carolina, and were joined by Mac Wiseman, who became the Foggy Mountain Boys.

In 1948, they made their first record for Mercury. Soon the group was offered a contract by Columbia, and this association lasted nearly 20 years. In 1955, they became members of the Grand Old Opry. They were one of the most successful groups in bluegrass and played together until Scruggs left to form his Earl Scruggs Review in 1959. Lester reformed the Foggy Mountain Boys as the Nashville Grass and continued his traditional bluegrass sound until his death in 1979.

Answer: It comes from the song 'Foggy Mountaintop' by the Carter Family.

The name the Foggy Mountain Boys came from the title of the Carter family song 'Foggy Mountaintop'.

Answer: Mac Wiseman

He joined the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1948, and a year later, he left to join Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.

Answer: Earl Scruggs

Born east of the Appalachian Mountains in Flint Hill, North Carolina, June 6, 1924, Scruggs was taught to play the five-string banjo with a three-fingered picking style. He is considered one of the finest banjo players in bluegrass. By the time he was six, he was playing with his brothers.

At age sixteen, he was playing with the group the Carolina Wildcats. In 1945, he joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.

Answer: False

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs broke up in 1969 when Scruggs wanted to change their traditional bluegrass sound. Flatt then reassembled most of the Foggy Mountain Boys into the group Nashville Grass. They were very successful playing his trademark bluegrass sound until Flatt's death in 1979. Earl Scruggs went on to travel and record with his Earl Scruggs Review.

Answer: Eric Weissberg

Arthur Smith was nominated for a 1973 Golden Globe for the music and Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel were nominated for their arrangement of this song. Weissberg also plays pedal steel, 'dobro' (the trademark of Gibson guitar company for an acoustic guitar with a metal striking plate), mandolin, and fiddle.

Answer: Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss is one of the finest fiddlers and vocalists in bluegrass. Thank you for taking my quiz on a little taste of bluegrass.