On the Bus with Bill Monroe: My Five-Year Ride with the Father of Blue Grass

By Mark Hembree

Book Overview

A backstage audition led Mark Hembree into a five-year stint (1979-1984) as the bassist for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. Hembree's journey included playing at the White House and on the acclaimed album Master of Bluegrass . But it also put him on a collision course with the rigors of touring, the mysteries of Southern culture, and the complex personality of bandleader-legend Bill Monroe. Whether it's figuring out the best time for breakfast (early) or for beating the boss at poker (never), Hembree gives readers an up-close look at the occasionally exalting, often unglamorous life of a touring musician in the sometimes baffling, always colorful company of a bluegrass icon. The amusing story of a Yankee fish out of water, On the Bus with Bill Monroe mixes memoir with storytelling to recount the adventures of a Northerner learning new ways and the Old South.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 025208649X
• ISBN13: 9780252086496
• Release Date: April 2022
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.9"