Can't You Hear Me Calling The Life Of Bill Monroe, Father Of Bluegrass [Paperback]

Considering the range of stars that have claimed Bill Monroe as an influence—Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Jerry Garcia are just a few—it can be said that no single artist has had as broad an impact on American popular music as he did. For sixty years, Monroe was a star at the Grand Ole Opry, and when he died in 1996, he was universally hailed as the Father of Bluegrass. But the personal life of this taciturn figure remained largely unknown. Delving into everything from Monroe's professional successes to his bitter rivalries, from his isolated childhood to his reckless womanizing, veteran bluegrass journalist Richard D. Smith has created a three-dimensional portrait of this brilliant, complex, and contradictory man. Featuring over 120 interviews, this scrupulously researched work—aChicago TribuneChoice Selection,New York TimesNotable Book, andLos Angeles TimesBest Book of 2000—stands as the authoritative biography of a true giant of American music.

Richard D. Smithis the author ofBluegrass: An Informal GuideandImages of America: Princetonand has written for theNew York Times, Bluegrass Unlimited,and theJournal of Country Music,among others. A musician who plays the mandolin and guitar, he lives in Rocky Hill, New Jersey.