Franklin "Amos" Garren was the first

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

for

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

and his band, the Blue Grass Boys. He was the bass player on Monroe's hit recording of "

Mule Skinner Blues "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" (a.k.a. "Muleskinner Blues", and "Muleskinner's Blues") is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, a ...

." Though he was not in the Blue Grass Boys for a long time, his impact as a double bass player is still seen today.

History

Franklin "Amos" Garren was born in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

on May 10, 1914. He was one of the first bluegrass "bass players." Bill Monroe selected Amos Garren to become his bass player after the band moved to Greenville,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Amos Garren was hired in 1942, as Bill Monroe, known now as the "father of bluegrass music", was assembling his band. Garren died on May 10, 1977.

Professional career

Amos Garren started his career with Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys in August 1939, after "Snowball" Millard left the band in July to be with his wife who was expecting a baby. The band praised Garren for his singing abilities. The band's

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

songs were given more attention by listeners because of the

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

style in which they were performed. The quartet featured Garren on

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, Monroe and Art Wooten on

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, and Johnnie Davis on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. The band was the first to receive an

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...

on a

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

, during a performance on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

. After the Garren was hired, Monroe began promoting the band and this specific lineup. Amos was playing bass with Monroe when Monroe made his Opry debut. Monroe loved his solid foundation on the bass and was happy in hiring Garren, as now Davis has a solid backing for his rhythm. Amos Garren left the band in 1940, right before the Blue Grass Boys recorded their first album.Guralnick, Peter (2020). ''Looking to Get Lost, Adventures in Music and Writing''. Little, Brown.

Songs that Amos Garren played with Bill Monroe

References

External links

Bill Monroe Playing at the Grand Ole Opry - "Uncle Pen"

Bill Monroe Playing at the Grand Ole Opry - "Bluegrass Breakdown"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garren, Amos 1914 births 1977 deaths Bluegrass musicians from North Carolina 20th-century American double-bassists American bluegrass musicians Blue Grass Boys members