Franklin "Amos" Garren was the first bassist for Bill Monroe and his band, the Blue Grass Boys. He was the bass player on Monroe's hit recording of "Mule Skinner Blues." Though he was not in the Blue Grass Boys for a long time, his impact as a double bass player is still seen today.[1]

History

Franklin "Amos" Garren was born in North Carolina on May 10, 1914.[2] He was one of the first bluegrass "bass players." Bill Monroe selected Amos Garren to become his bass player after the band moved to Greenville, South Carolina. Amos Garren was hired in 1942, as Bill Monroe, known now as the "father of bluegrass music", was assembling his band. Garren died on May 10, 1977.[2]

Professional career

Amos Garren started his career with Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys in August of 1939, after "Snowball" Millard left the band in July to be with his wife who was expecting a baby.[3] The band praised Garren for his singing abilities. The band's gospel songs were given more attention by listeners because of the quartet style in which they were performed. The quartet featured Garren on lead, Monroe and Art Wooten on tenor, and Johnnie Davis on bass.[4] The band was the first to receive an encore on a broadcast, during a performance on the Grand Ole Opry.[5] After the Garren was hired, Monroe began promoting the band and this specific lineup.[6] Amos was playing bass with Monroe when Monroe made his Opry debut.[7] Monroe loved his solid foundation on the bass and was happy in hiring Garren, as now Davis has a solid backing for his rhythm.[8] Amos Garren left the band in 1940, right before the Blue Grass Boys recorded their first album.[9]

Songs that Amos Garren played with Bill Monroe

Year / Date Song Band Name Band Members Venue / Name of album
November 25th, 1939 Bile 'Em Cabbage Down* Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys Bill Monroe, Johnnie "Cleo" Davis, Art Wooten Grand Ole Opry - Nashville, Tennessee
1965 Uncle Pen Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys Bill Monroe, Johnnie "Cleo" Davis, Art Wooten Porter Wagoner Show
1965 Blue Grass Breakdown Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys Bill Monroe, Johnnie "Cleo" Davis, Art Wooten

References

  1. ↑ "The Music of Bill Monroe from 1936 to 1994". MusicBrainz.
  2. 1 2 "Amos Garren: Blue Grass Boy". doodah.net. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  3. ↑ Ewing, Tom (2018). Bill Monroe: The Life & Music of the Bluegrass Man. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252050589.
  4. ↑ Ewing, Tom, ed. (2000). The Bill Monroe reader. Music in American life. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-02500-6.
  5. ↑ Mazor, Barry (2009). Meeting Jimmie Rodgers: how America's original roots music hero changed the pop sounds of a century. New York Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532762-5.
  6. ↑ Paradis, Thomas (2022). A Place Called District 12. McFarland. p. 201. ISBN 9781476687285.
  7. ↑ Cunningham, Mike. The Legends of Bluegrass Music. 2023.
  8. ↑ Smith, Richard (2009). Can't You Here Me Calling. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780786731169.
  9. ↑ Guralnick, Peter (2020). Looking to Get Lost, Adventures in Music and Writing. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316412643.
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