William Smith Monroe developed the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. He is often referred to as "the father of bluegrass." Monroe was born in Rosine, Kentucky. His father, James Buchanan Monroe, was a well-to-do farmer while his mother, Melissa Ann Van Diver, … Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Bill Monroe. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Monroe