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100 Greatest Bluegrass Songs

Criteria: These 100 Greatest Bluegrass songs were chosen for their influenece, impact, originality, and lasting popularity in the world of Bluegrass music.

Last Updated: 2014-02-12
Newly added names are in  Red 
Greatest Bluegrass Songs
  1. With Body And Soul - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
  2. Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys
  3. Rank Stranger - The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys
  4. Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
  5. Rocky Top - The Osborne Brothers
  6. On The Sunny Side Of The Mountain - Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
  7. Orange Blossom Special - The Stonemans // Johnson Mountain Boys
  8. Jerusalem Ridge - Kenny Baker & Bill Monroe
  9. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow - Stanley Brothers (1959) // Soggy Bottom Boys (2000)
10. Fox On the Run - Country Gentlemen (Rebel Records, studio, 1971)
11. I'll Fly Away - Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch
12. I'll Meet You In Church Sunday - The Stanley Brothers
13. New Muleskinner Blues - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
14. Mountain Dew - Grandpa Jones
15. I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby - Jerry Douglas Band w/Alison Krauss
16. You Don't Know My Mind - Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
17. Molly & Tenbrooks - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
18. Wayfaring Stranger - Emmylou Harris
19. Salt Creek - Norman Blake, Tony Rice & Doc Watson
20. Paradise - Jim & Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys
21. Little Maggie - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
22. I Wouldn't Change You If I Could - Jim Eanes & The Shenandoah Valley Boys
23. I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home - Mac Wiseman & The Country Boys
24. How Mountain Girls Can Love - The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys
25. Uncle Pen - Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys (1950)
     // Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder (1983)

26. The Boys Are Back In Town - Patty Loveless
27. Wild Horses - Old And In The Way
28. I've Got That Old Feeling - Alison Krauss & Union Station
29. Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
30. Feudin' Banjos - Arthur Smith & Don Reno
     //
Duelin' Banjos - Eric Weissberg w/ Steve Mandell
31. Clinch Mountain Backstep - The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys
32. Worried Man Blues (1971) - Wade Mainer
33. High On A Mountain - Del McCoury & The Dixie Pals
34. I Am A Pilgrim - The Kentucky Colonels
35. Drink Up And Go Home - Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
36. Dooley - Dillards
37. I Know You Rider - Seldom Scene
38. Ruby, Are You Mad? - The Osborne Brothers
39. Callin' Baton Rouge - New Grass Revival
40. Last Train To Kitty Hawk - Balsam Range
41. The Little Mountain Church - Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
42. Devil's Train - James King Band
43. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms - Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys
44. Freight Train - Jim & Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys
45. High Lonesome Sound - Vince Gill
46. It's Mighty Dark To Travel - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
47. Georgie Buck - Carolina Chocolate Drops
48. I Saw The Light - Roy Acuff w/The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
49. Meet Me By The Moonlight - The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys
50. A Voice From On High - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
51. The Fields Have Turned Brown - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
52. Girl At The Crossroads Bar - The Bluegrass Cardinals
53. 'Tis Sweet To Be Remembered - Mac Wiseman & The Country Boys
54. Nine Pound Hammer - Jim & Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys
55. Little Birdie - Wade Mainer (1953) // Red Allen & The Kentuckians
56. Tennessee 1949 - Larry Sparks
57. Walls Of Time - The Johnson Mountain Boys
58. The Ballad Of Jed Clampett - Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys
59. Fair And Tender Ladies - Joe Val & The New England Bluegrass Boys
60. Pretty Green Hills - Dave Evans
61. Tortured Tangled Hearts - Dixie Chicks
62. Grayson County Blues - No Speed Limit
63. Pretty Polly - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
64. Please Be My Love - Jim & Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys
65. Rocky Road Blues - Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys
66. Long Black Veil - John Duffey
67. Steam-Powered Aereoplane - John Hartford
68. Going Across The Sea - Valley Road
69. I'm On My Way Home - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
70. Black Mountain Rag (live) - Doc & Merle Watson
71. Howdy Neighbor, Howdy - Reno & Smiley & The Tennessee Cut-Ups
72. I Found A Hiding Place - Carl Story & His Ramblin' Mountaineers
73. 20 Years Of Farming - James King Band
74. Better Times A Coming - Jim & Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys
75. Sparkling Blue Eyes (1971) - Wade Mainer
76. Gloryland - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
77. Angel Band - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
78. Me And The Jukebox - Buzz Busby & The Bayou Boys
79. Cabin On The Hill - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
80. Kentucky Borderline - Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
81. Electricity - Jimmy Murphy
82. Little Gloria Rose - Seldom Scene
83. Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die - Reno & Smiley & The Tennessee Cut-Ups
84. Windy Mountain - The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
85. Bile 'Em Cabbage Down - Heights Of Grass
86. Long Journey Home - The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover
87. Cripple Creek - The Stonemans
88. Rain And Sorrow - Del McCoury & The Dixie Pals
89. Old Home Place - J. D. Crowe & The New South
90. Two Highways - Alison Krauss & Union Station
91. Blue Ridge Cabin Home - The Bluegrass Album Band
92. Duncan & Brady (He's Been On The Job Too Long) - The Johnson Mountain Boys
93. Shady Grove - Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
94. Bluegrass Express - Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
95. John Deere Tractor - Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers
96. Will The Circle Be Unbroken? - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
97. Don't Cheat In Our Hometown - Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs
98. Kentucky Waltz - Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys
99. Barbara Allen - Moore & Napier
100. Roving Gambler - Country Gentlemen // Larry Sparks // Peter Rowan

101. Colleen Malone - Hot Rize
102. I Wonder Where You Are Tonight - Jim & Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys
103. White Dove - Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys
104. Spanish River - The Masters, featuring Jesse McReynolds
105. Cotton-Eyed Joe - Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys
106. Sally Goodin - Byron Berline Band
107. Sea Of Heartbreak - Country Gentlemen
108. Nashville Cats - Del McCoury Band
109. Free Born Man - Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
110. Heartaches And Teardrops - Cedar Hill
111. Bringing Mary Home - Country Gentlemen
112. Can't You Hear Me Callin' - Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys
113. More Pretty Girls Than One - Volume Five
114. Someone Play Dixie For Me - Dry Branch Fire Squad
115. Choctaw Hayride - Alison Krauss & Union Station
116. Mary Ann - Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
117. Kentucky - The Louvin Brothers
118. One Way Track - Boone Creek
119. Hit Parade Of Love - Jimmy Martin amp; The Sunny Mountain Boys
120. O Death - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
121. Please Come Home - James Monroe Band
122. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Bill & James Monroe & Bluegrass Boys
123. I Know You're Married But I Love You Still - Reno & Smiley & The Tennessee Cut Ups
124. Muddy Waters - Seldom Scene
125. Only Me - Rhonda Vincent w/Willie Nelson
126. Tennessee - Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
127. Sparkling Brown Eyes - Joe Val & The New England Bluegrass Boys
128. The Legend Of The Rebel Soldier - Country Gentlemen
129. Bed By The Window - James King Band
130. Echo Mountain - Cedar Hill

  Christmas Bluegrass Classic:
Christmas Time's A Comin' - Bill Monroe (1951)


Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe


Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs


The Stanley Brothers
The Stanley Brothers


Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin


Jim & Jesse McReynolds
Jim & Jesse McReynolds


Alison Krauss & Union Station
Alison Krauss
& Union Station
Background:
In the Appalachian mountains of the United States the rural settlers entertained themselves with impromptu folk dance music with a mixture of acoustic instruments from Europe and Africa. These included banjo, mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass and in later years the dobro. With the introduction of the phonograph and radio this "mountain music" began to be heard across the U.S. One of the most popular music duos were the Monroe Brothers from Kentucky (the Bluegrass State) in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1938 Bill Monroe formed his own band called "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys". They played the Grand Ole Opry in 1939 and became wildly popular with traditional country music fans. At this time it was called old time mountain hillbilly music and it wasn't until 1965 that festivals needed a name for their shows and "Bluegrass" was chosen in honor of "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys."

For more history of Bluegrass Music go to: International Bluegrass Music Association



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