Bluegrass Cold War Ends
 I believe the one
musical performance that stands out in my mind over any other
after 32 straight June Bean Blossom festivals is the year that
Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt sang together after the BGCW (bluegrass
cold war), ended. All bluegrass fans know the story about the
BGCW - but there are some different theories about its cause.
In any event, after Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs left the Blue
Grass Boys and formed their own band, the Foggy Mountain Boys,
there was a period exceeding twenty years in which Bill Monroe
did not acknowledge the existence of Lester and Earl. No speaking,
even when in the same room or on the same stage. It was Bill's
way of handling a situation when he thought he had been wronged.
But, as happens in the life of most of us, with the aging process
comes a "mellowing", and hatchets are buried. The day
that Lester appeared at Bean Blossom and walked out on the stage
and Bill held out his hand and said, "welcome to Bean Blossom",
followed immediately by a duet of the two famous voices, is a
day to remember. I was sitting very close to the stage in front
of the wooden boards/benches that used to be there, and just
before Lester came out, all of the entertainers came out from
backstage around in front to witness the historic event. Don
Reno spotted an empty fold-up aluminum chair next to me and sat
down in it so hard that it broke, slowly settling him to the
ground - but he didn't even seem to notice. The audience went
wild, seeing the two legends reunited on the stage, their voices
blending as perfectly as they had thirty years before.
Jim Peva
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