Bluegrass: A HISTORY 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Music in American Life)

Interesting read, hearing all the background and after the fact info!

If you want to learn about the history of bluegrass all the way from Bill Monroe to Cherryholmes and Cadillac Sky, then Rosenberg is NOT the book for you. Although this "revised" edition was published in 2005, it is essentially the same book originally published in 1985, and even that narrative pretty well stopped in the mid-1970s.That said, this is a terrific history of the formative decades of bluegrass. Rosenberg's chronology is almost dizzying in its detail - so many musicians, record executives, festival promoters, radio station owners, magazine publishers, etc. to track in your mind as you read along. I am a former broadcaster and it was especially fun to remember what the "ecosystem" of the radio and music industries was like in the 50s and 60s.Rosenberg is at his best when analyzing the individual and cultural forces that led to the big breakthroughs for this musical form, and he exhibits a good understanding of the tensions between urban and rural fans and between young innovators and older traditionalists. The only place I think he went off track was in some overly academic analyses of bluegrass in film and television. Thanks, but I don't need to have The Beverly Hillbillies deconstructed.Overall, though, I learned a lot and gained a deeper appreciation for a musical form that I have enjoyed for many years. Well worth reading.

Neil Rosenberg has written a fine starter-kit book for those interested in bluegrass. This one gets you into the music and allows you to understand the principals but you will have to read another book or two which are a tad more contemporary to get the entire and indeed current picture of what bluegrass music really is today. Three and a half stars if you ask me.

I very much appreciate this extensive resource on bluegrass.My only disappointment is that though it was "revised" in 2005, nothing has been added since the original publication in 1985, presumably because it would require a second volume.

The definitive book on the history of bluegrass, "Bluegrass" does a great job balancing an explanation of the musical components, the cultural background of the music and the history in individual musicians who created it. Essential reading for anybody interested in bluegrass or Americana.

I haven't even started reading this book yet and may never. The type is so small that it makes it very difficult to read, even with glasses.

This book is a great historical overview of the conception, growth, and development of the bluegrass genre. It is full of entertaining anecdotes that support the factual foundation of the story.

An encyclopedia of bluegrass history. Full of facts and stories about the great performers. A great buy.

Not many books on this subject and so many people are asking what is bluegrass - read the book and you will find out

I do indeed get tired of hearing people take down a book because it is "too academic." That's indeed exactly what I wanted in this case. This book goes into detail to chart the progress of this musical genre, and I have learned quite a bit about moments in history I had heretofore known nothing about. Perhaps the greatest thing about Rosenberg's work is that I now have a reference book of sorts to which I can run whenever I want to learn more about the influences of many who have come since the "great ones." I recommend this book to all fans and bluegrass musicians who want to learn about the foundations of this great art form.

Muss man gelesen haben, wenn man über Bluegrass reden will.Zusammenhänge werden deutlich und nebenbei lernt man eine Menge über die amerikanische Kulturgeschichte.