Editing Bill Monroe (section)

== Later years ==

[[File:Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame Museum - June 2022 - Sarah Stierch.jpg|thumb|Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame Museum in [[Morgantown, Indiana]]. He founded the Hall in 1984.]]

Even after the folk revival faded in the mid-1960s, it left a loyal audience for bluegrass music. Bluegrass festivals became common, with fans often traveling long distances to see a number of different acts over several days of performances.

In 1967, Monroe himself founded an annual bluegrass festival at [[Beanblossom, Indiana|Bean Blossom]] in southern Indiana, a park he had purchased in 1951,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> which routinely attracted a crowd of thousands; a double LP from the festival featuring Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, and Jim and Jesse was released in 1973. The annual ''Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival'' is now the world's oldest continuously running annual bluegrass festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200002995/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905004417/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/IN/200002995.html|url-status=dead|title=Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival in Brown County|first=Baron P. |last=Hill|date=Spring 2000|archive-date=September 5, 2008|website=Local Legacies |publisher=American Folklife Center, Library of Congress|access-date=November 30, 2024}}</ref>

Monroe's compositions during his later period were largely instrumentals, including "Jerusalem Ridge", "Old Dangerfield" (originally spelled Daingerfield after [[Daingerfield, Texas|the town in East Texas]]),<ref>"Stoney Lonesome Fiddle Book", by Stacy Phillips</ref> and "My Last Days on Earth"; he settled into a new role as a musical patriarch who continued to influence younger generations of musicians. Monroe recorded two albums of duets in the 1980s; the first featured collaborations with country stars such as [[Emmylou Harris]], [[Waylon Jennings]], and [[The Oak Ridge Boys]], while the second paired him with other prominent bluegrass musicians.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> A 1989 live album celebrated his 50th year on the Grand Ole Opry.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Monroe also kept a hectic touring schedule.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> On April 7, 1990, Monroe performed for [[Farm Aid|Farm Aid IV]] in [[Indianapolis]], Indiana along with [[Willie Nelson]], [[John Mellencamp]], [[Neil Young]] and with many other artists.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Dawn |date=18 June 2007 |title=RetroIndy: Farm Aid IV raised a bumper crop of cash |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2017/06/18/farm-aid-iv-raised-bumper-crop-cash/395865001/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=[[The Indianapolis Star]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

Monroe also had the distinction of playing for four consecutive presidents, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

=== Death ===

Monroe's last performance occurred on March 15, 1996. He ended his touring and playing career in April, following a stroke. Monroe died on September 9, 1996, in [[Springfield, Tennessee]], four days shy of his 85th birthday.<ref name="Flippo">{{cite magazine|last1=Flippo|first1=Chet|title=Industry Mourns Father of Bluegrass|magazine=Billboard|date=September 21, 1996|pages=6, 79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9|access-date=June 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Jon Pareles |author-link1=Jon Pareles |title=Bill Monroe Dies at 84; Fused Musical Roots Into Bluegrass |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/10/arts/bill-monroe-dies-at-84-fused-musical-roots-into-bluegrass.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=31 October 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 September 1996 |page=D 22}}</ref>