Here’s a sweet little nugget of bluegrass history! 63 years ago this week, the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, recorded his first of two musically significant sessions for Decca. Here’s more from AllMusic.com:

In 1950, Bill Monroe had been on his own with the Bluegrass Boys for over 11 years and had been a Grand Ole Opry member for over ten. More importantly, he had had a successful run with Columbia Records and had left as his music had continued to develop for what he perceived to be a brighter, more lucrative future with Decca in 1950. As usual, Monroe’s instinct was correct. The 103 selections compiled here are from Monroe’s most fertile, creative period, many of the songs recorded during this era became his signature tracks, such as “Uncle Pen,” “Raw Hide,” “Get Down On Your Knees and Pray,” “Little Georgia Rose,” “On and On,” “Roanoke,” “The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake,” and “Kentucky Waltz.” It was while at Decca that he introduced and recorded his original and trademark mandolin tuning, where instead of four pairs of strings tuned to the same pitches as a violin, he tuned several pair of strings to two different notes that added the otherworldly timbres to his “high lonesome” sound. In addition to Monroe’s recording with the Bluegrass Boys, there are a number of sessions here that put Monroe in the solo spotlight with some of Nashville’s hottest session cats…

Keep reading about Big Mon’s sessions with Decca at http://www.allmusic.com/album/bluegrass-1950-1958-mw0000204366 . Check out all the incredible tracks Bill recorded during those two sessions at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Monroe_discography . And check out Sam Bush’s delivery of Monroe’s “Uncle Pen,” recorded by Monroe in 1950 on Decca, on our Video of the Day!

Happy Birthday to Del McCoury, one of the nicest guys on the bluegrass planet! How delightful that he’s spending his birthday on the Mountain Song at Sea bluegrass cruise… an epic adventure with one of the best lineups ever!