Yesterday I posted a bluegrass song as part of Country Music Week and today I continue with another bluegrass tune, this time one that is more on the country side of things.
As I said yesterday, traditional bluegrass has its roots in blues, jazz and folk and uses acoustic instruments like guitars, upright bass, banjo and the fiddle. In the late 60s and in the 70s there was a movement that introduced electric instruments into the genre. Electric bass is the most commonly used electric instrument but it is not unusual to hear piano and a full drum kit in some modern bluegrass tunes.
Songs from other genres, rock 'n' roll in particular, also started popping up in bluegrass sets. The musicians took the popular songs and put a new twist on them. More unusual chord progressions and 'jamming' sections in the songs also became part of this movement. This new style is called progressive bluegrass, also known as newgrass.
However, the focus of the music is still on the acoustic instruments, especially the fiddle and acoustic guitar. In the 90s, it became a popular thing for country artists to record a bluegrass album now that the genres seemed to be getting closer together.
The song that I have posted is the Circle of Life from the Lion King by country music artist COLIN RAYE. Colin's version of this song is a good example of a newgrass piece. Especially nice is the inclusion of the bluegrass standard Will the Circle Be Unbroken which fits both musically and lyrically.
According to producer Fred Mollin, Colin recorded this track in one take!
 | Circle of Life Colin Raye 2001   |
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