 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(December 2021) |
The discography for the American bluegrass musician Bill Monroe includes a selection of compilation albums. No duplicates are listed.
| Year of release | Title | Label | Number |
| 1940 | "Mule Skinner Blues" / "Six White Horses" | Bluebird | Bb 8568 |
| 1940 | "No Letter In the Mail" / "Cryin' Holy Unto My Lord" | Bluebird | Bb 8611 |
| 1940 | "Dog House Blues" / "Katy Hill" | Bluebird | Bb 8692 |
| 1940 | "I Wonder If You Feel the Way I Do" / "Tennessee Blues" | Bluebird | Bb 8813 |
| 1941 | "Blue Yodel No.7" / "In the Pines" | Bluebird | Bb 8861 |
| 1941 | "The Coupon Song" / "Orange Blossom Special" | Bluebird | Bb 8893 |
| 1941 | "Shake My Mother's Hand For Me" / "Were You There" | Bluebird | Bb 8953 |
| 1941 | "Honky Tonk Swing" / "Back Up and Push" | Bluebird | Bb 8988 |
| 1945 | "True Life Blues" / "Footprints In the Snow" | Columbia | 20080 |
| 1946 | "Rocky Road Blues" / "Kentucky Waltz" | Columbia | 36907 |
| 1946 | "Mansions For Me" / "Mother's Only Sleeping" | Columbia | 20107 |
| 1946 | "Blue Yodel No.4" / "Will You Be Loving Another Man?" | Columbia | 20189 |
| 1946 | "Goodbye Old Pal" / "Blue Moon of Kentucky" | Columbia | 20370 |
| 1946 | "Blue Grass Special" / "How Will I Explain About You" | Columbia | 20384 |
| 1947 | "Shine Hallelujah Shine" / "I'm Travelin' On and On" | Columbia | 20402 |
| 1947 | "My Rose of Old Kentucky" / "Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong" | Columbia | 20423 |
| 1947 | "I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling" / "Little Cabin Home On the Hill" | Columbia | 20459 |
| 1947 | "That Home Above" / "Little Community Church" | Columbia | 20488 |
| 1947 | "Summertime Is Past and Gone" / "Wicked Path of Sin" | Columbia | 20503 |
| 1948 | "It's Mighty Dark To Travel" / "When You Are Lonely" | Columbia | 20526 |
| 1948 | "Toy Heart" / "Bluegrass Breakdown" | Columbia | 20552 |
| 1948 | "The Old Cross Road" / "Remember the Cross" | Columbia | 20576 |
| 1948 | "Heavy Traffic Ahead" / "Along About Daybreak" | Columbia | 20595 |
| 1948 | "I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky" / "Molly and Tenbrooks" | Columbia | 20612 |
| 1949 | "The Girl In the Blue Velvet Band" / "Bluegrass Stomp" | Columbia | 20648 |
| 1949 | "Can't You Hear Me Calling" / "Travelin' This Lonesome Road" | Columbia | 20676 |
| 1950 | "New Mule Skinner Blues" / "My Little Georgia Rose" | Decca | 46222 |
| 1950 | "The Old Fiddler" / "Alabama Waltz" | Decca | 46236 |
| 1950 | "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" / "Boat of Love" | Decca | 46254 |
| 1950 | "Bluegrass Ramble" / "Memories of You" | Decca | 46266 |
| 1950 | "Uncle Pen" / "When the Golden Leaves Begin To Fall" | Decca | 46283 |
| 1951 | "On the Old Kentucky Shore" / "Poison Love" | Decca | 46298 |
| 1951 | "Lord Protect My Soul" / "River of Death" | Decca | 46305 |
| 1951 | "Kentucky Waltz" / "Prisoner's Song" | Decca | 46314 |
| 1951 | "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" / "Angels Rock Me To Sleep" | Decca | 46325 |
| 1951 | "Rotation Blues" / "Lonesome Truck Driver's Blues" | Decca | 46344 |
| 1951 | "I'll Meet You In Church Sunday Morning" / "Get Down On Your Knees and Pray" | Decca | 46351 |
| 1951 | "Highway of Sorrow" / "Sugar Coated Love" | Decca | 46369 |
| 1951 | "Brakeman's Blues" / "Travelin' Blues" | Decca | 46380 |
| 1951 | "Christmas Time's A-Coming" / "The First Whippoorwill" | Decca | 46386 |
| 1952 | "Raw Hide" / "Letter From My Darling" | Decca | 46392 |
| 1952 | "I'm On My Way To the Old Home" / "The First Whippoorwill" | Decca | 28045 |
| 1952 | "When the Cactus Is In Bloom" / "Sailor's Plea" | Decca | 28183 |
| 1952 | "Pike County Breakdown" / "A Mighty Pretty Waltz" | Decca | 28356 |
| 1952 | "Footprints In the Snow" / "In the Pines" | Decca | 28416 |
| 1953 | "You're Drifting Away" / "Walking In Jerusalem" | Decca | 28608 |
| 1953 | "Cabin of Love" / "Country Waltz" | Decca | 28749 |
| 1954 | "Memories of Mother and Dad" / "The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake" | Decca | 28878 |
| 1954 | "I Hope You Have Learned" / "Wishing Waltz" | Decca | 29009 |
| 1954 | "Y'all Come" / "Changing Partners" | Decca | 29021 |
| 1954 | "Get Up John" / "White House Blues" | Decca | 29141 |
| 1954 | "Happy On My Way" / "He Will Set Your Fields On Fire" | Decca | 29196 |
| 1955 | "Blue Moon of Kentucky" / "Close By" | Decca | 29289 |
| 1955 | "I'm Working On A Building" / "A Voice From On High" | Decca | 29348 |
| 1955 | "Cheyenne" / "Roanoke" | Decca | 29406 |
| 1955 | "Wait A Little Longer, Please Jesus" / "Let the Light Shine Down On Me" | Decca | 29436 |
| 1956 | "Put My Little Shoes Away" / "Wheel Hoss" | Decca | 29645 |
| 1956 | "On and On" / "I Believed In You Darling" | Decca | 29886 |
| 1957 | "You'll Find Her Name Written There" / "Sitting Alone In the Moonlight" | Decca | 30178 |
| 1957 | "A Fallen Star" / Four Walls" | Decca | 30327 |
| 1958 | "Molly and Tenbrooks" / "I'm Sitting On the Top of the World" | Decca | 30486 |
| 1958 | "Sally-Jo" / "Brand New Shoes" | Decca | 30647 |
| 1959 | "Panhandle Country" / "Scotland" | Decca | 30739 |
| 1959 | "Gotta Travel On" / "No One But My Darlin'* | Decca | 30809 |
| 1959 | "Tomorrow I'll Be Gone" / "Dark As the Night, Blue As the Day" | Decca | 30944 |
| 1960 | "Lonesome Wind Blues" / "Come Go With Me" | Decca | 31031 |
| 1961 | "Precious Memories" / "Jesus Hold My Hand" | Decca | 31107 |
| 1961 | "Linda Lou" / "Put My Rubber Doll Away" | Decca | 31218 |
| 1961 | "Blue Grass Part 1" / "Flowers of Love" | Decca | 31346 |
| 1962 | "Toy Heart" / "Danny Boy" | Decca | 31409 |
| 1963 | "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" / "How Will I Explain About You" | Decca | 31456 |
| 1963 | "There Was Nothing We Could Do" / "Big Sandy River" | Decca | 31487 |
| 1963 | "New John Henry Blues" / "Devil's Dream" | Decca | 31540 |
| 1964 | "Darlin' Corey" / "Salt Creek" | Decca | 31596 |
| 1964 | "Shenandoah Breakdown" / "Mary At the Home Place" | Decca | 31658 |
| 1965 | "Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy" / "Cindy" | Decca | 31802 |
| 1965 | "I Live In the Past" / "There's An Old, Old House" | Decca | 31878 |
| 1966 | "Going Home" / "Master Builder" | Decca | 31943 |
| 1967 | "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" / "Pretty Fair Maiden In the Garden" | Decca | 32075 |
| 1968 | "Train 45" / "Is the Blue Moon Still Shining" | Decca | 32245 |
| 1968 | "The Gold Rush" / "Virginia Darlin'" | Decca | 32404 |
| 1969 | "I Haven't Seen Mary In Years" / "Crossing the Cumberlands" | Decca | 32502 |
| 1969 | "Fireball Mail" / "With Body and Soul" | Decca | 32574 |
| 1970 | "Bonny" / "Sweet Mary and the Miles In Between" | Decca | 32645 |
| 1970 | "Walk Softly On My Heart" / "McKinley's March" | Decca | 32654 |
| 1971 | "Going Up Caney" / "Tallahassee" | Decca | 32827 |
| 1972 | "My Old Kentucky and You" / "Lonesome Moonlight Waltz" | Decca | 32966 |
| 1973 | "Foggy Mountain Top" / "Tall Pines" | MCA | 40006 |
| 1973 | "Down Yonder" / "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" | MCA | 40220 |
| 1977 | "My Sweet Blue Eyed Darling" / "Monroe's Blues" | MCA | 40675 |
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1958 | Knee Deep In Bluegrass | Decca | DL 8731 | Reissued in UK as Brunswick 8259 |
| 1959 | I Saw the Light | Decca | DL 8769 | Reissued as MCA 527 |
| 1961 | Mr Bluegrass | Decca | DL 4080 | Reissued as MCA 82 |
| 1962 | Bluegrass Ramble | Decca | DL 4266 | Reissued as MCA 88 |
| 1963 | Bluegrass Special | Decca | DL 4382 | Reissued as MCA 97 Reissued in UK as Brunswick 8579 |
| 1964 | I'll Meet You In Church Sunday Morning | Decca | DL 4537 | Reissued as MCA 226 |
| 1967 | Bluegrass Time | Decca | DL 4896 | Reissued as MCA 116 |
| 1972 | Uncle Pen | Decca | DL7 5347 | Reissued as MCA 500 |
| 1973 | Bill & James Monroe - Father and Son | MCA | 310 | |
| 1974 | Road of Life | MCA | 426 | |
| 1976 | Weary Traveller | MCA | 2173 | Reissued as MCA 707 |
| 1977 | Bluegrass Memories | MCA | 2315 | Reissued as MCA 872 |
| 1978 | Bill & James Monroe - Together Again | MCA | 2367 | Reissued as MCA 633 |
| 1981 | Master of Bluegrass | MCA | 5214 | |
| 1983 | Bill Monroe and Friends | MCA | 5435 | |
| 1985 | Stars of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame | MCA | 5625 | |
| 1987 | Bluegrass ' 87 | MCA | 5970 | Reissued as MCA 31310 |
| 1988 | Southern Flavor | MCA | 42133 | |
| 1991 | Cryin' Holy Unto the Lord | MCA | 10017 |
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1961 | The Great Bill Monroe | Harmony | HL 7290 | |
| 1962 | My All Time Country Favorites | Decca | DL 4327 | Reissued in Japan as Decca 5086 |
| 1962 | The Father of Bluegrass Music | RCA Camden | CAL 719 | Reissued as RCA ACL 7059 |
| 1964 | Bill Monroe's Best | Harmony | HL 7315 | |
| 1964 | Songs With the Bluegrass Boys | Vocalion | VL 3702 | Reissued as Coral CB 20099 |
| 1965 | Bluegrass Instrumentals | Decca | DL 4601 | Reissued as MCA 104 |
| 1965 | The Original Bluegrass Sound | Harmony | HL 7338 | |
| 1965 | Bluegrass Style | Vocalion | VL7 3870 | Reissued as Coral CB 20077 |
| 1966 | The High Lonesome Sound | Decca | DL 4780 | Reissued as MCA 110 |
| 1968 | Greatest Hits | Decca | DL7 5010 | Reissued as MCA 17 |
| 1969 | Bill Monroe & Charlie Monroe | Decca | DL7 5066 | Reissued as MCA 124 |
| 1969 | A Voice From On High | Decca | DL7 5135 | Reissued as MCA 131 |
| 1970 | 16 All-time Greatest Hits | Columbia | CS 1065 | |
| 1970 | Kentucky Bluegrass | Decca | DL7 5213 | Reissued as MCA 136 |
| 1971 | Country Music Hall of Fame | Decca | DL7 5281 | Reissued as MCA 140 |
| 1973 | Greatest Hits | MCA | 5023 | Japanese issue |
| 1974 | Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys 1950-60 | MCA | 9224-27 | 4 vol.; Japanese issue - |
| 1975 | The Best of | MCA | 2 4090 | Double album |
| 1975 | Bluegrass Special Vol.1 | BS | 1 | French issue |
| 1976 | Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys 1950-72 | MCA | 9269-71 | 3 vol; Japanese issue - |
| 1976 | Bluegrass Special Vol.2 | BS | 3 | French issue |
| 1976 | Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys Vol.1 | CBS Sony | 20AP11 | Japanese issue |
| 1976 | Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys Vol.2 | CBS Sony | 20AP12 | Japanese issue |
| 1976 | New Greatest Hits | CBS Sony | 20AP27 | Japanese issue |
| 1977 | Sings Bluegrass, Body and Soul | MCA | 2251 | Reissued as MCA 708 |
| 1978 | With Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs | Rounder | SS 06 | |
| 1980 | Classic Bluegrass Recordings Vol.1 | County | CCS 104 | |
| 1980 | Classic Bluegrass Recordings Vol.2 | County | CCS 105 | |
| 1980 | Country Hall of Fame | Coral | CDL 8505 | UK issue |
| 1981 | Singles Collection Vol.1 | MCA | VIM 4068 | Japanese issue |
| 1981 | Singles Collection Vol.2 | MCA | VIM 4069 | Japanese issue |
| 1981 | Singles Collection Vol.3 | MCA | VIM 4070 | Japanese issue |
| 1981 | Singles Collection Vol.4 | MCA | VIM 4071 | Japanese issue |
| 1983 | Bill Monroe 1950-54 | Collector's Classics | CC 18 | German issue |
| 1984 | Bill Monroe | Columbia | FC 38904 | |
| 1985 | Classic Bluegrass Instrumentals | Rebel | 850 | Canadian issue |
| 1987 | In the Pines | Rebel | 853 | Canadian issue reissued as County CCS 114 |
| 1989 | Bluegrass 1950-1958 | Bear Family | BCD 15423 | 4 vol; German issue |
| 1991 | Bill Monroe | MCA | D 10082 | Part of the Country Music Hall of Fame series |
| 1991 | Mule Skinner Blues | RCA Victor | 2494-2-R | Reissued as Country Legends |
| 1991 | Bluegrass 1959-1969 | Bear Family | BCD 15529 | 4 vol; German issue |
| 1992 | The Essential | Columbia | C2K 52478 | Double album |
| 1994 | The Music of Bill Monroe 1936-94 | MCA | D4 11048 | 4 vol. |
| 1994 | Bluegrass 1970-1979 | Bear Family | BCD 15606 | 4 vol; German issue |
| 1996 | 16 gems | Columbia | CK 53908 | |
| 1997 | Bluegrass Breakdown | Javelin | PRACD 4003 | |
| 1997 | The Father of Bluegrass Music | RCA Victor | BVCP 7464 | Japanese issue |
| 1998 | The Early Years | Vanguard | VCD 79518 | |
| 1999 | The Best of | MCA | 088170109-2 | |
| 1999 | The Best of | MCA | MCF 2696 | |
| 1999 | Blue Grass Special Memories | Raintree | RR 599 | |
| 1999 | Lookin' Back | Silver Eagle | SEA 70007 | |
| 1999 | Father of Bluegrass: the Early Years | ASV | AJA 5298 | 1940-47; UK issue |
| 2000 | American Traveler | County | CCS 119 | |
| 2000 | The Father of Bluegrass | Castle Pulse | PLS 359 | UK issue |
| 2001 | Mansions For Me | Music Mill Entertainment | MME 71007 | |
| 2001 | 36 All-time favorites | Universal Music | - | 3 vol. |
| 2002 | The Very Best of | MCA | 088112982-2 | Reissued as The Definitive Collection |
| 2003 | All the Classic Releases 1937-1949 | JSP | 7712 | 4 vol.; UK issue |
| 2003 | Gotta Travel On | MCA | MCLD 19403 | |
| 2003 | Bill Monroe Anthology 1950-81 | MCA | 088113207-2 | |
| 2003 | Blue Moon of Kentucky 1936-49 | Bear Family | BCD 16399 | 6 vol; German issue |
| 2003 | Blue...Blue...Bluegrass | Black Cat | BCCD 0074 | Czech issue |
| 2004 | The King and the Father | Music Mill Entertainment | MME 70048 | |
| 2004 | The Gospel Spirit | MCA | 290702 | |
| 2004 | Far Across the Blue Water | Bear Family | BCD 16624 | 4 vol; German issue |
| 2005 | Shady Grove | Fruit Tree | FT 843 | Italian issue |
| 2005 | Nine Pound Hammer | Tomato | TMT 2154 | |
| 2005 | I Saw the Light | Universal Music | B0004618-02 | |
| 2007 | My Last Days On Earth 1981-84 | Bear Family | BCD 16637 | 4 vol; German issue |
| 2009 | Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys | JSP | 77119 | 4 vol.; UK issue |
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1973 | Bean Blossom | MCA | 2 8002 | Double album |
| 1975 | Bill Monroe & Doc Watson - Sings Country Songs | FBN | 210 | |
| 1976 | Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Festival | Country Music Magazine | CM 1039 | |
| 1979 | Bean Blossom ' 79 | MCA | 3209 | Reissued in Japan as MCA VIM 6222 |
| 1980 | Radio Shows 1946-48 | Country Canada | BGC 80 | Canadian issue |
| 1981 | Orange Blossom Special | Stack-O-Hits | 9001 | Reissued as Hollywood HCD-409 At His Best, and in Germany as Astan 20018 [1] |
| 1982 | Live Radio | Country Road | CR 02 | Canadian issue |
| 1989 | Live At the Opry | MCA | 076742228620 | |
| 1993 | Live Recordings 1956-69 Vol.1 | Smithsonian Folkways | 40063 | |
| 1993 | Bill Monroe & Doc Watson - Live Duet Recordings | Smithsonian Folkways | 40064 | 1963-1980 |
| 1999 | Live From Mountain Stage | Blue Plate Music | BPM 400 | |
| 2001 | Live Vol.1 | Rural Rhythm | RHY 1015 | |
| 2002 | Live At Vanderbilt | Bear Family | BCD 16614 | German issue |
| 2003 | Two Days At Newport 1963 | AndMoreBears | AMD 25001 | |
| 2004 | Live At Mechanics Hall | Acoustic Disc | ACD 59 | |
| 2005 | 200th Show At the Brown County Jamboree Barn | No Label | No # |
William Smith Monroe was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, and created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass".
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it largely developed out of old-time string music, though in contrast, it is traditionally played exclusively on acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish and Irish ballads and dance tunes, as well as in blues and jazz. It was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
Lester Raymond Flatt was an American bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs.
James Dee Crowe was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until his death in 2021.
Benny Edward Martin, was an American bluegrass fiddler who invented the eight-string fiddle. Throughout his musical career he performed with artists such as the Bluegrass Boys, Don Reno, the Smoky Mountain Boys and Flatt and Scruggs, and later performed and recorded with the Stanley Brothers, Hylo Brown, Jimmy Martin, Johnnie and Jack, and the Stonemans, among others. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
James Henry Martin was an American bluegrass singer and musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Some think the origins may trace back to "Roll Along, Kentucky Moon", a similar waltz recorded 20 years prior by Jimmie Rodgers. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney. The song is the official bluegrass song of Kentucky.
Delano Floyd McCoury is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respectively. In June 2010, he received a National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2011 he was elected into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Peter Hamilton Rowan is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. He is a seven-time Grammy Award nominee.
Ronald Delano McCoury, known as Ronnie McCoury, is an American mandolin player, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of bluegrass musician Del McCoury, and is best known for his work with the Del McCoury Band and the Travelin' McCourys.
Clyde Moody, also known as the "Hillbilly Waltz King" and sometimes as "The Genial Gentleman of Country Music" was one of the great founders of American Bluegrass music.
Richard K. "Dick" Spottswood is an American musicologist and author from Maryland, United States who has catalogued and been responsible for the reissue of many thousands of recordings of vernacular music in the United States.
Kenneth Clayton Baker was an American fiddle player best known for his 25-year tenure with Bill Monroe and his group The Blue Grass Boys.
The Osborne Brothers, Sonny and Bobby, were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s and until Sonny retired in 2005. They are probably best known for their No. 33 1967 country hit song, "Rocky Top", written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and named after a Tennessee location.
Richard Greene is an American violinist who has been described as "one of the most innovative and influential fiddle players of all time". Greene is credited with introducing the chop to fiddle playing while working with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, the invention of which he attributes to pain in his wrist and arm and "laziness". He featured the technique in his performances with Seatrain.
William Bradford "Bill" Keith was a five-string banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular "Scruggs style" of banjo playing which would soon become known as melodic style, or "Keith style". He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
Joseph Calvin "Butch" Robins is an American five-string–banjo player with his own, distinct style. He's an individualist and, according to himself, "a seeker of information, knowledge and wisdom."
Rudy R. Lyle was an American bluegrass banjo player, mostly known for being a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the period 1949–1954.
Bill Clifton is an American bluegrass musician and singer who is credited with having organized one of the first bluegrass festivals in the United States in 1961.
Bluegrass fiddling is a distinctive style of American fiddle playing which is characterized by bold, bluesy improvisation, off-beat "chopping", and sophisticated use of both double-stops and old-time bowing patterns.