MY CONNECTION TO THE FATHER OF
BLUEGRASS: BILL MONROE
In 1984 I lived at Ski Lodge III apartments in
Birmingham, Alabama. In addition to billionaire Donald Watkins, my neighbor was
Wanda Huff, the girlfriend of the legendary father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe.
Wanda Huff became one of my closest friends. I have lost contact with Wanda, but
I still love her dearly.
Bill
Monroe was born September 13, 1911 and grew up on his family’s 650-acre farm
on the outskirts of Rosine, Kentucky. Bill died on September 9th,
1996 in Springfield, Tenn, four days short of his 85th birthday.
While I never accepted invitations from Wanda to travel to meet Bill Monroe at
his home I felt a closeness to him, because of our mutual friend.
Bill
Monroe was an artistic giant. A lifetime of creativity yielded hundreds of
songs. Some of his great songs were UNCLE
PEN, MY LITTLE GEORGIA ROSE, BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY, ON AND ON, BLUEGRASS
BREAKDOWN AND RAWHIDE. These songs have been played by every bluegrass
band in the world. He influenced every bluegrass performer in the world. He had
a great influence on popular music in general. According to Wanda he never
smoked or dranked alcohol. She truly loved Bill Monroe.
When
I accepted a legal position at Legal Services Corporation in Selma, Alabama it
was Wanda Huff who helped me move to Selma. We loaded the few possessions that I
had and headed for Selma in March of 1987. In 1989 Wanda would bring assault
charges against Bill Monroe alleging that he hit her in the face with a Bible
and kicking her at his Sumter County farm as reported in The Tennessean, May 11, 1989.
He would later be exonerated ten days later. Bill Monroe kept up a busy concert
schedule until he died from a stroke in 1996.
Wanda
please know that I appreciated your friendship and continue to love you dearly.
Greg
Griffin is a freelance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting
his web page at www.greggriffin.com
