Rounder Records will release Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration – A Classic Bluegrass Tribute on August 23, a two-disc commemoration of the Father of Bluegrass during his centennial year.
The album will include 28 tracks from prominent Rounder artists like The Grascals, Bluegrass Album Band, Claire Lynch, Ricky Skaggs, Blue Highway, Michael Cleveland and The Johnson Mountain Boys, all performing Monroe’s music. These are all previously-released tracks, with the exception of a cut of Close By from an upcoming Dailey & Vincent project.
Track listing…
- Tall Timber – The Bluegrass Album Band
- Will You be Loving Another Man – The Grascals
- Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day – Michael Cleveland with Dan Tyminski and Vince Gill
- Cheyenne – The Bluegrass Album Band
- Close By – Dailey & Vincent
- I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling – Joe Val & The New England Bluegrass Boys
- Shenandoah Breakdown – Wyatt Rice
- My Florida Sunshine – Claire Lynch
- I’m Blue I’m Lonesome – Nashville Bluegrass Band
- Toy Heart – Ricky Skaggs
- Wheel Hoss – The Bluegrass Album Band
- On the Old Kentucky Shore – The Bluegrass Album Band
- Come Back to Me in My Dreams – Al Jones and Frank Necessary & The Spruce Mountain Boys
- Wicked Path of Sin – Blue Highway
- Old Brown County Barn – Michael Cleveland
- You’d Better Get Right – The Vern Williams Band
- Voice From on High – Joe Val & The New England Bluegrass Boys
- Lonesome Moonlight Waltz – The Bluegrass Album Band
- Dog House Blues – Nashville Bluegrass Band
- Walls of Time – The Johnson Mountain Boys
- Big Mon – Tony Rice
- Footprints in the Snow – IIIrd Tyme Out
- Jerusalem Ridge – Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
- Mansions for Me – Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-press
- In Despair – Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys featuring Charlie Sizemore
- You’re Drifting Away – Nashville Bluegrass Band
- True Life Blues – Hazel and Alice
- Goodbye Old Pal – Joe Val & The New England Bluegrass Boys
A lot of newer bluegrass fans have difficulty embracing the early recordings, both for the the primitive recording quality, and the occasional ragged-but-right nature of the performances. This Rounder compilation could be a fine way to introduce Monroe’s music to a new generation.
