William Smith “Bill” Monroe was born September 13, 1911, near Rosine, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children in a musical farm family. His father, James Buchanan “Buck” Monroe, was a farmer, timber operator, and coal miner who also loved dancing, while his mother, Malissa, sang and played several instruments. Monroe’s most important early musical influence was his mother’s brother, Pendleton “Uncle Pen” Vandiver, a gifted fiddler who taught him about traditional