CON TEN T S But Monroe would have none of it and would say: “Get in there and crowd me with that guitar.” He said they’d both sing into the same mic. “I liked working for him...we stayed friends for years and years,” McCoury said, nostalgically. He was originally taught to play basic chords by his older brother, whose real name was, believe it or not, Grover Cleveland, but they called him “G.C.” Then when he was around ten or eleven years old, McCoury bought his first Flatt & Scruggs record. “I listened to that and heard that banjo, and thought, man, I’ve never heard anything like that,” he said. So, the banjo it was, and he played until he was hired by Monroe, but the legendary performer soon saw the wisdom in having McCoury sing lead and play guitar. Today, he does about 150 dates a year with the Del McCoury Band.
THE BLUEGRASS STANDARD