Died On This Date (June 12, 1960) Eli Oberstein / Successful Record Producer & Label Head

Eli Oberstein
December 13, 1901 – June 12, 1960

eliEli Oberstein was a successful record producer and label executive during the early part of the 20th century.  He went to work for Victor Records as a salesman during the ’20s and by the early 30s, he was running his own Crown Records.  He also helped for the legendary Bluebird Records.  As a producer, Oberstein helped create hits for the likes of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Ernest Tubb and Bill Monroe.  In 1936, he became head of A&R at Victor and Bluebird Records and was instrumental in bringing Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw to the label.  During the latter part of his life, Oberstein worked at numerous labels, including RCA and Columbia.  He passed away at the age of 58.  He may or may not be related to Joel Oberstein.



Died On This Date (May 11, 1979) Lester Flatt / Flatt & Scruggs

Lester Flatt
June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979

Lester Flatt was a singer and guitarist whose remarkable talents added to the success of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys through most of the ’40s.  In 1948, Flatt teamed up with banjo great Earl Scruggs to form Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Together they became one of the most popular bluegrass bands of their time and one of the most influential of all time. His smooth picking and rich voice can be heard on literally hundreds of songs that make up one of acoustic music’s most important catalogs. But perhaps Flatt’s biggest contribution to pop culture came by way of The Beverly Hillbillies for which they wrote and recorded its theme song, “The Ballad Of Jed Clampett,” backing singer Jerry Scoggins. They even appeared on the show as themselves a few times.  Lester Flatt died of heart disease on May 11, 1979.

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Died On This Date (January 1, 2009) Walter Haynes / Legendary Steel Guitarist

Walter Haynes
December 14, 1928 – January 1, 2009

walterWalter Haynes was a highly respected steel guitarist and songwriter who played on records by the likes of  Patsy Cline, JJ Cale, the Everly Brothers, Little Jimmy Dickens and Del Reeves with whom he co-wrote “Girl on the Billboard, a #1 hit for Reeves.  As a producer, he worked with Bill Monroe and Marty Robbins, among others. Haynes was 80 when he passed away on January 1, 2009.

Died On This Date (December 1, 2009) Jack Cooke / Bassist For Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe

Jack Cooke
December 6, 1936 – December 1, 2009

Jack Cooke was a bluegrass bassist and singer best remembered for his time playing in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. Cooke first came to prominence as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys with whom he played from 1956 to 1960.  He played on some of Monroe’s biggest hits, including the classic, “Big Mon.”  After leaving Monroe, he fronted his own band for a few years until getting the call to join Stanley in 1970.  He played in the Clinch Mountain Boys up until early 2009.  Cooke received a Grammy in 2002 as part of the Jim Lauderdale & Ralph Stanley album, Lost in the Lonesome Pines.  Jack Cooke, 72, passed away at a local hospital on December 1, 2009.



Died On This Date (September 9, 1996) Bill Monroe / Bluegrass Icon

Bill Monroe
September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996

Bill Monroe was a  bluegrass pioneer who more or less invented the genre whose name itself was  derived from the moniker of his own band, the Blue Grass Boys.  Born on the family farm in Kentucky, each of Monroe’s parents passed away by the time he was 16, so he spent the next two years living with his fiddle-playing uncle whom he often accompanied on mandolin at local gigs.  When he was 18, Monroe formed the Monroe Brothers with his brother Charlie Monroe and two friends.  The friends eventually left and the brothers continued as a duo, signing with RCA Victor in 1936.  In 1940, Monroe formed the Blue Grass Boys which soon included banjo great, Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt.  Now on Columbia Records, Monroe recorded a series of songs that would become the foundation of bluegrass music.  Those songs included “My Rose Of Old Kentucky” and “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” a cover of which became a signature song for Elvis Presley.   By the ’50s, bluegrass suffered from the coming of rock ‘n roll and the Nashville Sound of country music.  Things began to turn around thanks to the folk revival of the ’60s when Monroe’s music found an audience with young people who began embracing him as the “father of bluegrass.”  Bill Monroe passed away at the age of 84 on September 9, 1996.   He was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence the following year.

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Bill Monroe: Anthology - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys