Bob Black’s Come Hither to Go Yonder: Playing Bluegrass with Bill Monroe continues the string of recent publications in the Music in American Life series from the University of Illinois Press that has greatly enhanced and completely re-envisioned the available library of academic publications focusing on bluegrass music and culture. This work also continues the dedication of this series to connecting rather than dividing bluegrass scholars, other long-established participants in the broader bluegrass music community, and those of all backgrounds new to the music, by providing an organizational and literary style that can appeal strongly to all of these potential audiences. By including detailed biographical and discographic information on numerous bluegrass luminaries, a unique perspective on the most iconic and central figure in the history of bluegrass music from a highly respected member of his touring and recording ensemble, and a wide-ranging self-reflective look at the life of one of the genre’s most widely regarded banjoists, Come Hither to Go Yonder serves as a valuable resource to academic researchers, long-time festival pickers, and casual fans alike.
Presented through the voice and experiences of Bob Black (who recorded and performed on the banjo with Monroe as one of his Blue Grass Boys from 1974 to 1976), this work focuses on the impact of Monroe on Black’s musical and personal life before, during, and after Black’s two-year stint in Monroe’s band. Part personal memoir and part tribute to the Father of Bluegrass, this work provides a rich and productive examination of the ways in which Monroe deeply impacted the lives and performance practices of those whose relationship with his music took place over radio waves and across festival grounds as well as those with whom he performed regularly in the studio, on the road, or in impromptu jam sessions. Those expecting this work to focus exclusively on Black’s years as a Blue Grass Boy or his direct dealings with Monroe might be disappointed to find large sections of the book dedicated to Black’s life and music career outside of his years as one of Monroe’s regular sidemen. However, this broader context provides a richer view into the way in which Black himself sees these years as being central to his overall approach to music making. It also offers a compelling look at the impact of Monroe on two other groups of musicians—bluegrass and country artists who knew Monroe only as music listeners and festival attendees (as Black did before 1974) and artists who did not work under Monroe full-time but still enjoyed a productive musical kinship with him (as Black did from his time as a Blue Grass Boy until Monroe’s passing in 1996).
This diversity is also evident in the way in which the book is constructed to offer valuable information to readers, regardless of their familiarity with the history and practices of bluegrass music and musicians. While long-time fans will find a fascinating array of personal anecdotes and detailed information regarding the performance and recording histories of Monroe, Black, and many other bluegrass and country music artists, such information is never related to the reader out of context or without enough background information to allow those new to the genre to fully understand and appreciate it. While readers already closely familiar with bluegrass music may tire of widely recognized performers, songs, or historical events being introduced each time they are referenced, few should have trouble skimming through such brief passages, and many more will appreciate the broader introduction to the people and music depicted here. This philosophy of inclusivity carries into the supplemental material at the back of the book. A complete listing of every show played by Bill Monroe during Black’s tenure on the banjo provides an invaluable resource to scholars and completist collectors, and the sections titled “Additional Information about Some of the People and Groups Mentioned” and “Suggested Listening and Reading” provide a chance for newcomers to quickly reference or further explore elements of the book with which they may be less familiar. A well-organized index allows those with any level of familiarity to quickly arrive at the stories or references in which they are most interested.
Carl Fleischhauer’s and Neil V. Rosenberg’s Bluegrass Odyssey: A Documentary in Pictures and Words, 1966-86 [1], Thomas Smith’s The Bluegrass Reader [2], and Tom Ewing’s The Bill Monroe Reader [3]—all released as part of University of Illinois Press’s Music in American Life series over the last several years—filled crucial holes in existing bluegrass scholarship [4]. In a similar way this works offers a well executed and accessible first-hand account of the life of a widely traveled and recognized banjo picker and Blue Grass Boy, yielding meaningful insight not only into the life of Black himself but also into the power of the life and memory of Bill Monroe, the undisputed Father of Bluegrass.
[1] 2001. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
[2] 2004. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
[3] 2000. Urbana: University of Ilinois Press.
[4] Prior to these releases, discussions within the bluegrass community of book-length scholarly treatments of bluegrass music centered largely around Neil V. Rosenberg’s Bluegrass: A History (recently re-released in a 20th Anniversary Edition—2005 [1985]. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.), Robert Cantwell’s Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound (2003 [1984]. Urbana: University of Illinois Press), and Neil V. Rosenberg’s long out-of-print Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys: An Illustrated Discography (1974. Nashville: The Country Music Foundation Press.).
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[Review length: 903 words • Review posted on May 11, 2006]