Bill Jorgenson - The Father Of Wisconsin Bluegrass

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An Interview With Bill Jorgenson

By Roger Kuhns

In Southern Door County, along quiet road through the rich brown fields just turning green from spring rains is a small log cabin – the home of The Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass: Bill Jorgenson. The cabin, although not as old a Jorgenson, is on the same plot of land where he grew up. He was born in Anapee and his parents moved to the property when he was all of three years old.

“We had a cow, chickens and pigs. We were poor but never hungry. As a kid he listened to WLS Barn Dance from Chicago on an old radio. I really got to love hillbilly music, Mac and Bob, Red Foley, Gene Autry, all of them.”

There has been a lot of water under the bridge since those earliest days, and now Jorgenson is a seasoned bluegrass player with five albums. His notoriety is such that bluegrass legend Bill Monroe once called him “The Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass”. He’s jammed on stage with the likes of Monroe, and fiddlers Vasser Clemens and Curley Reynolds at Radio Glenmore Opera House that used to be near Denmark, Wisconsin. “You couldn’t find a nicer guy,” Jorgenson says about Clemens. He’s also jammed with current bluegrass favorite Alison Krauss, recently of Oh Brother soundtrack fame. “I got a picture of her hugging me and I told her to say the way she is – stay nice!” Jorgenson said of Krauss.

Now in his seventies, Jorgenson hasn’t let up at all. He can play for five hours and never repeat a song or forget a verse. After countless gigs, a radio show, festivals, and other appearances, Jorgenson is focusing on Bluegrass night at Wave Point Resort & Marina in Door County. “Jim and Sherry have been great to us out there,” Jorgenson said. He’ll have an August 4 Sunday afternoon show with friends at the Ephraim Town Hall. Jorgenson’s manager Rob Billings is helping him organize a September bluegrass festival at Wave Point.

Jorgenson’s roots go way back to when he was just nine years old. “My sister helped me to figure out cords on an old 1900 Martin parlor guitar that someone had given our family. My sisters were both piano players and they taught me waltz time and the old ‘ompha-ompha’ timing. By the early 1940’s my brother and I would play and sing in bars. My brother sang and played mandolin and I had gotten my hands on a tenor banjo that my dad bought from a friend for a few dollars”

Jorgenson served his stint in the military, and was stationed in Germany. “It was the same base in that Elvis was at.” He said. The music kept going, and he played a little ukulele for the friends in the barracks. Basic training had been at Fort Jackson in South Carolina where Jorgenson was exposed to lots of bluegrass, and it was there he met a guitar player that played like the Louven Brothers. Jorgenson said, “My visit to Fort Jackson got me interested in Bluegrass but it really started when I hurt my knee. I was laid up and all I could do was to listen to the radio. I listened to Mac Wiseman and Josh Graves on the radio. I was completely taken with the high tenor voice of Mac and decided that I wanted to be a bluegrass singer in the style of Max Wiseman. In the 1950’s I played with a lot of different people including my life long friend Larry Hartl. Larry plays the guitar, mandolin and dobro.”

RK: What happened when you got out of the army?

BJ: “I formed a band with Wally Kip of Valmy who played accordion, I played tenor banjo and one of the Bidorf brothers played guitar. We did a lot of country and polkas and had a fun time of it. We also played a lot in Milwaukee at places like the Tackle Shack, Blind Pig, and many others. The highlight was playing with Johnny Cash, June Carter and Tex Ritter at the Milwaukee Auditorium.”

RK: You had a TV program on channel 11 in the 60’s?

BJ: “We had such a crowd out there that in the early 60’s I had a 13 week stint with channel 11 broadcasting live from the Opera House. In 1963 after President Kennedy was shot the program went off the air as the opera house was sold. Ted Hurley was on the show with me. He was a terrific guitar player. Andy Sanders also played with me on the fiddle and bass.”

RK: What came after the 1960s?

BJ: “In the 70’s I helped start up the Glenmore Opera House. Many young musicians got their start there, like Eddie Biebel. It was a great two-year boom time for Bluegrass. The place was sold out and people came from miles around. It ended when the Glenmore was sold two years later.”

RK: What did you do after the Glenmore closed down?

BJ: “I was playing a show in Marquette Michigan and met a fellow by the name of Jerry Florian who was starting a bluegrass festival up in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. He invited me to play at his first festival and I have been playing there ever since. This year will be our 13th Annual Festival Bluegrass in the Northwoods. A number of good musicians played with me during these years, Bob Ranier on dobro and Dennis Bricco on guitar, just to name a couple.”

RK: So the Manitowish Waters Festival had been good to you?

BJ: “It certainly has, I met all the great musicians: Bill Monroe, Kenny Baker and Josh Graves, Alison Krause, Frank Wakefield and others. As host musician I play every day during the five-day festival and often get to share the stage with some of the icons of Bluegrass.”

RK: Tell us about Bill Monroe and his naming you the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass.

BJ: “Well, first of all there are a lot of great bluegrass musicians in the area who could claim the same title. I had the chance to spend a week with Bill Monroe in Manitowish Waters. I would help him to get to the stage area with all his equipment and kind of show him around. I got to see his F-5 Lloyd Lore mandolin, the one that sold for over 1.2 million dollars to the museum. One afternoon Bill invited me up on stage to do a number with him and after I came off he called out: ‘There goes the father of Wisconsin bluegrass’. His son James Monroe is coming to Manitowish Waters this summer so I look forward to playing with him on the stage in the pines. Bill Monroe invited me down to play on his radio show but I had a 50th wedding gig to do that weekend so we said we would reschedule but unfortunately he passed away before we could get together again. I will always remember the times I met him at Bean Blossom and the week I spent with him at Manitowish Waters.

.....Bill was kind enough to let Roger Kuhns wear Bill Monroe's hat!

RK: You mentioned once that you have a hat Bill Monroe wore, tell us about that.

BJ: “My good friend Dallas Smith from the Boys From Shiloh was a friend of Bill’s and often would walk the fences with Bill when he wanted to talk. One day it was really hot and as they were leaving Bill’s cabin to go for the walk Bill offered Dallas his hat. He later said keep it and Dallas brought the hat to the Manitowish Waters Festival It was too big for him so he gave it to the festival owner Jerry Florian who turned around and said, ‘Here the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass should have this hat’. Inside the brim it says: given to Bill Monroe by the Bluegrass Boys. I keep that hat real safe!”

RK: Besides playing with all the stars at the Manitowish Waters Festival what have you been doing over the past ten years?

BJ: “I formed a group with my old friend Larry Hartl and Jeanne Lottimor. We have been playing together throughout the 1990’s and just got back from playing Mole Lake for their Reunion Jam in May of 2002. Last year we played the Wisconsin State Fair and I also had my first festival.”

RK: Tell us about this year’s festival.

BJ: “Its over September 13-14-15 and will be held at The Wave Pointe Resort and Marina, its right on the water in Little Sturgeon, Wisconsin. I have invited my old friends Kenny Baker and Josh Graves to come up and health willing they’ll be here. In addition we have Becky Schlegel and Art Stevenson and the High water Band coming for the weekend. Also, Jeff Davis and New reflections, Big Cedar Band, Picking up Speed and the Half Day Bluegrass Band. On Sunday we have a special children’s program and on stage jam for those who would like to get up and do a few numbers.”

One of the things Jorgenson does on a regular basis is introduce young people to bluegrass music and the variety of instruments played in the genre. Jorgenson and his manager and often guitar player will go into the schools for the entire day and hold classes all day for the kids. Jorgenson shows them the instruments and plays some songs and get them singing and dancing so they can see what fun Bluegrass music can be. Jorgenson says he’s seen over 5,000 children in the last year and a half.

Jorgenson’s repertoire of traditional and some contemporary bluegrass music has been recorded on six CDs. Two of them are live recordings from the Manitowish Waters Bluegrass festivals. Jorgenson said, “With all that talent around you need to capture it on CD.” Jorgenson is also involved in preserving the great music of the past. To date four CD’s have been recorded for his Collector’s Series, with the able help of Rob Billings. These CD’s contain old favorites presented in the classic bluegrass style. Each CD has a different guest artist and the music tends to feature that artist’s specialty. For example Jorgenson’s newest CD entitled ‘Old Favorites’ features fiddle music by Big Al, the four-time state of Wisconsin Fiddle champion.

On one of Jorgenson’s albums, ‘Nashville’, he was able to include some true icons in the bluegrass world. Many had played with Bill Monroe, and are therefore designated as first generation bluegrass performers. Dallas and Bobbie Smith played with Bill and later formed the group the ‘Boys From Shilo’. Jorgenson was invited by Dallas to do an album right in the heart of Nashville in the Gene Breeden Studio at the United Artists towers. It was a great experience even for the ‘Father of Wisconsin bluegrass’, and the jam session had over 250 years of total bluegrass experience in the room, including Kenny Baker on fiddle, Uncle Josh Graves on dobro, Larry Perkins on banjo, Doug Mounts on guitar, and Joe Pointer on bass. Jorgenson said, “I even got to go to the Rymen after words and stop by the Station Inn.”

RK: What advice do you have for young talent wanting to play bluegrass?

BJ: Listen to the music and find a style you like and then practice, practice, practice. Always be nice to other performers, be respectful of their breaks and lead singing, and have a good time. I suggest playing in nursing homes for free. The people really appreciate it and they give you a chance to improve your performance skills. I am 71 years old and I am still playing and enjoying performing at nursing homes. Remember everyone has trouble in their lives, everyone has something in the past there would do over if they could. Bluegrass music is good for the sole the picking and singing relives the stress of the world. Music is good for the soul and Bluegrass music is friendly, good old, all American Music and I am proud to play it.”

Bill Jorgenson jamming with Rob Billings and Roger Kuhns at the Bridge in Egg Harbor. Special thanks are due to Rob Billings for his tremendous efforts in helping Bill Jorgenson recording and performing, and for helping set up this interview. Additional Information on Bill can be obtained at the web site http://www.bjorgensonbluegrass.com Jorgenson’s CDs are available on http://ww.musictoears.com website.