Editing Bill Monroe (section)

== Early life ==

Monroe was born on [[Bill Monroe Farm|his family's farm]] near [[Rosine, Kentucky]], the youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, [[Pendleton Vandiver|James Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver]], were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

Bill was of [[Scottish Americans|Scottish]] and [[English Americans|English]] heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and [[Charlie Monroe|Charlie]] already played the [[fiddle]] and [[guitar]], Bill was resigned to playing the less desirable [[mandolin]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He recalled that his brothers insisted that he remove four of the mandolin's eight strings so he would not play too loudly.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Monroe's mother died when he was ten, and his father died six years later.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Eventually, his brothers and sisters moved away, leaving Monroe to bounce between uncles and aunts until finally settling in with his disabled uncle Pendleton Vandiver, whom he often accompanied when Vandiver played the fiddle at dances. This experience inspired one of Monroe's most famous compositions, "Uncle Pen", recorded in 1950,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> and the 1972 album ''Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen.'' On that album, Monroe recorded a number of traditional fiddle tunes he had often heard performed by Vandiver. Vandiver has been credited with giving Monroe "a repertoire of tunes that sank into Bill's aurally trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones."<ref>{{cite book |author=Smith |first=Richard D. |author-link=Richard D Smith journalist |url=https://archive.org/details/cantyouhearmecal00smit/ |title=Can't You Hear Me Callin': the Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-316-80381-6 |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |page=27 |language=en |oclc=42690222 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Also significant in Monroe's musical life was [[Arnold Shultz]], an influential [[fiddle]]r and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the [[blues]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound|author=Robert Cantwell|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|date=2003|isbn=9780252071171|pages=30–32}}</ref><ref>''The Father of Bluegrass Music'', DVD Documentary (1993)</ref> In an interview with Ralph Rinzler, Monroe described the fiddling of Shultz as being infused with more blues than a white fiddler, although he would play common songs such as "Sally Goodin".<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ivsfqwgg4M&list=LL |title=Bill Monroe Interview |date=2021-05-04 |last=Traditional Blue Grass & Classic Country Music |access-date=2024-12-10 |via=YouTube}}</ref>