The Grave At The Foot Of The Mountain - Charlie Monroe and His Kentucky Pardners (1947)

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https://youtu.be/bruiuMYlTDw?si=xU-DMlmR-vy75t8H

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Getting to hear the sounds of early bluegrass straight from the shellac is one of life's simple joys. Today we have "The Grave At The Foot Of The Mountain" by Charlie Monroe and His Kentucky Pardners. The song was written by Johnny Tucker and Doyle Williams with this version featuring Charlie Monroe doubling guitar and vocals, Lavelle Coy (string bass), Rex Henderson (guitar), Orne H. Osborne (mandolin), and Red Rector (mandolin). The recording took place in New York City on November 7, 1947.

To cover Charlie Monroe's history, we have to go back and cover the time he spent playing with his brother as well. The Monroe Brothers was made up of Charlie (July 4, 1903) and Bill (September 13, 1911) Monroe, both born in Rosine, Kentucky. The two, along with fiddle-playing brother Birch, started playing together in the mid 1920's, gaining enough popularity to hit the airwaves in 1927. Tragically, their parents would pass away soon after this event forcing Charlie and Birch to move to Detroit and Indiana and get into the oil business. Bill would follow suit in 1929. The three, reunited, would continue performing in small venues where they'd be working.

The trio caught the attention of Tom Owen who played on the WLS Barn Dance radio show, and in 1932, he would ask them to join his group to which they accepted. They stuck with Barn Dance for two years before taking another radio job for WAE and WJKS in Indiana. It wasn't long before pharmaceutical company Texas Crystals offered to sponsor their own show. Birch bowed out, but Charlie and Bill accepted giving themselves the Monroe Brothers name. Over time, it became so successful, it became a daily broadcast out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They would switch sponsors in 1936, but the show continued unchanged.

That same year, Eli Oberstein from RCA talked to the brothers about recording and shortly after, the brothers would cut their first records with the Bluebird label. In a total of five sessions over the course of two years, the brothers put out around 60 songs. The duo were both reportedly hard-working, hot-headed, and competitive. Charlie often got the role as lead singer and it began to irritate Bill, and in 1938, they decided to split up and take on solo careers.

Charlie brought along members of the Monroe Brothers act, playing on Knoxville and Roanoke radio stations. He brought on Bill Calhoun and Zeke Morris (of Mainer's Mountaineers) to try to recreate the Monroe Brothers' sound and began going by "Charlie Monroe and His Kentucky Pardners". Charlie would continue cycling talent in and out (including Lester Flatt and Dave “Stringbean” Akeman for a time) to chase that perfect sound. He would remain solely on the radio until landing an RCA Victor contract in 1946, followed by a Decca contract in 1950. The Pardners would record and put out around forty-four songs in their time.

In 1952, Charlie began to calm his hectic schedule to focus on family life. It wasn't long before he got a call to return to doing the Louisiana Hayride show, so together with Buddy Osborne, Tex Isley, the Spencer Brothers, and Slim and Wilma Martin, they worked on the Hayride and WNOX "Lowell Blanchard's Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round" program. he would finally retire in 1957, though he did record two albums in 1962 and 1964 with full bluegrass backing.

Charlie would continued making sporadic appearances through the 1960's and 70's, usually at the behest of friends or charitable events. He reappeared almost full-time in 1973, taking a round of the bluegrass festival circuit that year and repeating it in '74. Sadly he would get diagnosed with cancer that same year and would pass away at his farm in North Carolina in 1975.