Editing Bill Monroe (section)

== "Original Bluegrass Band" and Monroe's heyday ==

{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2022}}

Key developments occurred in Monroe's music with the addition of [[Lester Flatt]] and [[Earl Scruggs]] to the Blue Grass Boys in December 1945.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Flatt played a solid rhythm guitar style that would help to set the course for bluegrass timing. Scruggs played the banjo with a distinctive three-finger picking style that immediately caused a sensation among Opry audiences. Flatt and Scruggs joined a highly accomplished group that included fiddler Howdy Forrester and bassist Joe Forrester and would soon include fiddler [[Chubby Wise]] and bassist Howard Watts, who often performed under the name "Cedric Rainwater".

In retrospect, this line-up of the Blue Grass Boys has been dubbed the "Original Bluegrass Band", as the music finally included all the elements that characterize bluegrass music, including breakneck tempos, sophisticated vocal harmony arrangements, and impressive instrumental proficiency demonstrated in solos or "breaks" on the mandolin, banjo, and fiddle. By this time, Monroe had acquired the 1923 Gibson F5 model "Lloyd Loar" mandolin, which became his trademark instrument for the remainder of his career.<ref>Rosenberg, Neil V. (2005). ''BLUEGRASS: A History''. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press; {{ISBN|0-252-07245-6}}</ref>

The 28 songs recorded by this version of the Blue Grass Boys for Columbia Records in 1946 and 1947 soon became classics of the genre, including "Toy Heart", "Blue Grass Breakdown", "[[Molly and Tenbrooks]]", "Wicked Path of Sin", "My Rose of Old Kentucky", "Little Cabin Home on the Hill", and Monroe's most famous song "[[Blue Moon of Kentucky]]",<ref name="LarkinGE"/> which was recorded by [[Elvis Presley]] in 1954, appearing as the B-side of his first single for [[Sun Records]]. Monroe gave his blessing to Presley's [[rock and roll]] cover of the song, originally a slow [[ballad]] in [[waltz]] time, and re-recorded it himself with a faster arrangement after Presley's version became a hit.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Several gospel-themed numbers are credited to the "Blue Grass Quartet", which featured four-part vocal arrangements accompanied solely by mandolin and guitar – Monroe's usual practice when performing "sacred" songs.

Both Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe's band in early 1948, soon forming their own group, the [[Foggy Mountain Boys]]. In 1949, after signing with Decca Records, Monroe entered what has been called the "golden age" of his career<ref>''Bill Monroe and Bluegrass'' by Roughstock staff, January 27, 2009 {{cite web |url=http://www.roughstock.com/history/bill-monroe-and-bluegrass/ |title=Roughstock's History of Country Music - Bill Monroe and Bluegrass |access-date=June 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620032558/http://www.roughstock.com/history/bill-monroe-and-bluegrass/ |archive-date=June 20, 2009  }}</ref> with what many consider the classic "high lonesome" version of the Blue Grass Boys, featuring the lead vocals and rhythm guitar of [[Jimmy Martin]], the banjo of [[Rudy Lyle]] (replacing [[Don Reno]]), and fiddlers such as Merle "Red" Taylor, [[Charlie Cline]], [[Bobby Hicks]], and [[Vassar Clements]].

This band recorded a number of bluegrass classics, including "My Little Georgia Rose", "On and On", "Memories of Mother and Dad", and "Uncle Pen", as well as instrumentals such as "Roanoke", "Big Mon", "Stoney Lonesome", "Get Up John", and the mandolin feature "Raw Hide". [[Carter Stanley]] joined the Blue Grass Boys as guitarist for a short time in 1951 during a period when [[The Stanley Brothers]] had temporarily disbanded.

On January 16, 1953, Monroe was critically injured in a two-car wreck.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He and "Bluegrass Boys" bass player, [[Bessie Lee Mauldin]], were returning home from a fox hunt north of [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]. On highway 31-W, near White House, their car was struck by a drunken driver. Monroe, who had suffered injuries to his back, left arm and nose, was rushed to General Hospital in Nashville. It took him almost four months to recover and resume touring.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> In the meantime [[Charlie Cline]] and [[Jimmy Martin]] kept the band together.<ref name="Rosenberg"/>{{Page needed|date=May 2024}}

By the late 1950s, however, Monroe's commercial fortunes had begun to slip.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The rise of rock-and-roll and the development of the "[[Nashville sound]]" in mainstream [[country music]] both represented threats to the viability of bluegrass. While still a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, Monroe found diminishing success on the singles charts, and struggled to keep his band together in the face of declining demand for live performances.