Strings and Strikes

When you’re 19 games out you’ve got to do something to fill the seats, so the Atlanta Braves have invited banjo players from hither and yon to the stadium on Sept. 13 to help set a world’s record. It will be the most banjo players in one place playing the same song, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” which was used as the theme for the movie “Bonnie And Clyde.”

Don’t know if this will bring people to the stadium. My wife and son run from the house when I start playing my banjo, and my practice is punctuated by the rythmn of neighbors slamming their windows. ‘Course, I’m no Earl Scruggs.

He will be at the stadium for the tribute, by the way.

It’s been observed that there is a longstanding relationship between bluegrass and baseball. Fans of the former tend to be fans of the latter more than any other sport. Neil Rosenberg, a folklorist at the University of Newfoundland, wrote about this in his book Bluegrass: A History, which was published 20 years ago. Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, was an avid baseball fan. For many years he combined musical gigs with baseball games–his traveling musicians would don uniforms and play the local team before the evening show. It was said that Monroe hired musicians as much for their ability to hit a curve as for their musical talent.

I think the connection between baseball and bluegrass is tradition. Though bluegrass as Monroe invented it is only about sixty years old, many of its fans are devoted to maintaining its traditions. There’s a particular list of accepted instruments, and it’s pretty small. Some people don’t accept the Dobro because of a disparaging comment about the instrument attributed to Monroe. Hardcore fans will walk away from a festival act that has the temerity to add a single snare drum to the instrumentation. Lately I’ve read many posts to the web arguing about a female bluegrass singer who does not play an instrument on stage. Is it still bluegrass? Is it acceptable?

It reminds me of baseball’s similar discussions. The DH ruined the game. Interleague play is a travesty. Something or other about the lively ball.

What attracts many people to baseball and bluegrass is the idea that these things are timeless, that they don’t change. And when someone does change them it’s Katie Bar The Door.

Which sounds like a good title for a breakdown.

Brent Davis, Senior Content Director, WOSU, and the guy who tends The Bluegrass Ramble Website.