Charlie Monroe | |
|---|---|
 Bill and Charlie Monroe in 1936. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1903-07-06)July 6, 1903 Rosine, Kentucky,United States |
| Died | September 27, 1975(1975-09-27) (aged 72) Reidsville, North Carolina, United States |
| Genres | Country,Bluegrass music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Guitarist |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1920s–1957; 1972–1974 |
| Labels | Decca Records |
Charlie Monroe (July 4, 1903[1] – September 27, 1975) was an Americancountry andbluegrass music guitarist. Charlie performed with his brother, Bill, as part of the Monroe Brothers.[2] He later formed his own group, Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Pardners.[3]
Charlie Monroe was born on his family's farm inRosine, Kentucky; he was the older brother of themandolin playerBill Monroe. His sister Bertha also played guitar, and brotherBirch, fiddle. Charlie,Birch, and Bill played together as a band in the middle of the 1920s, and played on radio starting in 1927. Soon after this, however, their parents died and Charlie andBirch moved toDetroit and thenIndiana to find work, eventually taking jobs inoil refineries nearHammond, Indiana. Bill followed them into the oil business in 1929, and the three continued performing in small-time and private venues.[2]
Tom Owen, a musician on theWLS Barn Dance radio program, heard them play at a dance club in 1932 and asked them to join his group as dancers. They accepted, and toured with Owen for the next two years. In 1934, they once again got offers to play music, this time for Indiana radio stations WAE and WJKS. Not long after this, Texas Crystals, apharmaceutical company, offered to sponsor the Monroes for a radio program of their own. When Birch refused the offer, Bill and Charlie took the bill as The Monroe Brothers.[2]
The resulting program was so successful that it eventually became a daily broadcast onCharlotte, North Carolina stationWBT. Texas Crystals dropped the sponsorship in 1936, but Crazy Water Crystal Company picked it up, and the brothers continued with the show. That same year, the brothers first recorded together forBluebird Records. Bill and Charlie recorded together for the next two years, but Bill chafed under Charlie's role as the usual lead singer. Both brothers were hot-headed and hard-working and felt they could succeed on their own. Charlie was comfortable leading a band, more so than his brother Bill as a result of his outgoing personality, and they split in 1938.[2]
Each then formed his own band, with Bill starting The Kentuckians (later the Blue Grass Boys) and Charlie, The Kentucky Pardners. Charlie brought members of the Monroe Brothers act with him to Knoxville and then to Roanoke playing on radio stations. By this time he had hired Bill Calhoun and Zeke Morris, and he was attempting a re-creation of the Monroe Brothers duet sound.[3] He spent most of his time during the early 1940s in Greensboro, North Carolina at radio station WBIG, where he was featured on a show called the Noonday Jamboree every day. He also spent some time in '44 and '45 at WSJS in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[4] A number of noted bluegrass musicians played with Charlie's band, includingLester Flatt,[5] Red Rector,[6]Curly Seckler,[7] Fiddlin' Dale Cole[citation needed] andIra Louvin.[8] The Kentucky Pardners enjoyed considerable success as a touring outfit in theAmerican South throughout the 1940s.
Charlie signed withRCA Victor in 1946 and withDecca Records in 1950; he wrote and recorded a large body of material and continued to tour relentlessly until he announced his retirement in 1957. He moved back to his farm and, after the death of his first wife, worked in manual labor inIndiana again. He remarried in 1969. On July 3 of the same year, he performed with Bill and Birch at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.[9]
Monroe was asked byJimmy Martin to play at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival in 1972. His performance was a great success.
He continued to play festivals until diagnosed withcancer in 1974; he died at his farm inReidsville, North Carolina in 1975 and was buried in his family's plot.
