Flatt / Monroe

Live at Vanderbilt Flatt / Monroe

No one would have bet much on the chances of Lester Flatt and Bill Monroe appearing on the same stage in the 1970s. Bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe was known to harbor grudges for decades, and hadn't forgiven Lester Flatt and his then-partner, Earl Scruggs, for leaving the Blue Grass Boys in 1948. Neither had Bill Monroe gotten over his annoyance when Flatt & Scruggs joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1953. But in 1971, Lester Flatt appeared at Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival, and in 1974, Bill Monroe recorded again with Lester Flatt at a memorable concert held at Nashville's Vanderbilt University. That concert, first released in it's entirety on Bear Family's exclusive boxed set, 'Flatt On Victor,' now makes it's debut as a single CD.

The twenty-five songs run the gamut of the very best of Bluegrass and traditional country music: Little Cabin Home On The Hill, Salty Dog Blues, Nine Pound Hammer, Get In Line Brother, Uncle Pen, Muleskinner Blues, and of course, Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Among those in Lester Flatt's band on that March night in 1974 were fifteen-year-old Marty Stuart on mandolin, and now Marty Stuart shares his recollections of that night. Bluegrass is more popular than ever, and this ranks among the greatest Bluegrass events of all time!