M is for MONROE, MARSALIS, and MY WAY AtoZChallenge

The theme of my 2014 A-to-Z Blog Challenge is BLUES, PUPUS, and REVIEWS.

Tuesday & Friday - BLUES: Art, Movies, Music, & Police

 

MONROE, MARSALIS, and MY WAY

Father of BLUEgrass Music;

Jazz in the Bittersweet BLUES W. MARSALIS;

and Ol’ BLUE Eyes

 

Sometimes the music is just too big to write about. It’s that way with Bill Monroe, considered the Father of Bluegrass music; and Wynton Marsalis with his Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues; and Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, doing things “My Way.” 

It was always entertaining to watch shows with Frank Sinatra on stage joking around with his buddies, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. Imagine Ol’ Blue Eyes teaming up with Wynton and Bill to sing a medley of tunes, the three of them bobbing and weaving through the rhythms of bluegrass, crooning nightclub melodies, and hitting the high notes of sweet jazz. 

 

Frank gets the red ribbon for his live performance in Australia with the Red Norvo Quintet in 1959 and for his rendition of Red Roses (for a Blue Lady.)

 

 

Wynton earns the white ribbon for opening the White House Music Series hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama.

 

 

But Bill wins the blue ribbon. He is the Father of Bluegrass; his band was named the Blue Grass Boys; his record label was Bluebird; and he sang such songs as Mule Skinner Blues, Blue Grass Breakdown, and Blue Moon Over Kentucky. He even founded the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival. When it came to doing things “My Way” Frank Sinatra had nothing over Bill Monroe.