"High Lonesome" - A Synonym for "Hickory Wind"

High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass is an adequate introduction to Bluegrass music and its history, with lots of great interviews and off-the-cuff performances by Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass. I think that everyone interested in roots music should watch it, if only to get a baseline for the history.

However, be aware that this documentary only scratches the surface -- merely hinting sometimes -- of some of the most important aspects of this music's history. There's just no way that ninety minutes could capture even half of it. It does a good job, though, of introducing the major elements of the music, where they all came from -- the mountains of America borrowing from sounds of the Scots, Irish, and African traditions, and of the historical period and human conditions of that time.

Some of the most critical personal stories are left out, though. They don't mention Monroe's isolation as a child due to his visual handicap -- his crossed eyes, which lead to his crippling independence and stubbornness later in life. The stubbornness that led him almost to financial ruin, and yet, years later, left Bluegrass untarnished and unspoiled for another generation to discover and cherish because of his unwillingness to change it for financial gain. He was an odd man, Bill Monroe, powerful, distant, lonely, universally beloved, and yet a bitter man to work with and an almost impossible man to know. Seeing him in this documentary as an old man, wandering slowly through his parents tiny farm house, what fans call the Old Home Place, is very powerful. It is a picture of a giant of a man rediscovering his humble beginnings.

The DVD touches only briefly on Earl Scruggs' banjo-picking style and it's influence on the music. It also only barely touches on the impact of the Stanley brothers. I don't think there's any mention of Monroe's falling out with Flatt & Scruggs or the grudge that lasted for decades either. However, it does show the impact of the 60s and 70s counterculture on the music. Flocks of Deadheads and hippies that together with the old Folkies and Bluegrass originals create the Bluegrass festival culture that we enjoy so much today.

All in all, of course I recommend you watch this movie. I recommend it if you're new to Bluegrass, or if you're not sure you like it, or if you just have no clue where this music comes from. Go and rent it. If you're a long-time Bluegrass fan and you think you know a thing or two about it -- like I did -- then I recommend you watch it anyway. It's worth it just to hear Monroe's voice, catch Jimmy Martin's clowning, and see Earl Scruggs' knowing smile.

I hope in all cases it lights a fire under you like it did under me. It'll make you want to read books and play CDs and pick up your instrument. Go get in a jam! After that, I recommend you read Can't You Hear Me Callin', Bill Monroe's biography. This book gives you a considerably more in-depth story of Monroe's life and his impact on Bluegrass music.

I've said this many times before, but it's the reason I write for this site, so I'll say it again. Folks need the "down-home-ness" of this music. They need to feel attached to their roots... their family, country, and community. I like that this documentary shows the historical migration of people from the painful, bleak, rural lifestyle before WWII to the decadent consumer-driven style of the 50s, and then the swing back to "roots-living" in the 60s and 70s. I think these movements away from and back to our roots are the natural course of human history.

I don't think it's a coincidence that even before the September 11th attacks in 2001 that people were taking to movies like O Brother Where Art Thou? and it's fabulous soundtrack. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Internet, the very medium I'm using to communicate this thought to you, was created just a little before this roots Renaissance. I think that young folks, like us, are happy to live in this Internet age, but not without some ties back to home. Who are we? Who are we to be? Where did we come from? Why are we here? I know that I look back in time and up my family tree and I find roots music -- country, Bluegrass, Blues, and even good ol' rock n' roll. (One day old school rock will be considered "roots," don't even doubt it.)

So go back and hear the sound of your grandfathers and grandmothers, and their grandfathers and grandmothers. Go back and hear where we came from, if only to know where we can go.