Bill Monroe recorded “Big Ball in Brooklyn” during the same April 1962 sessions that produced the Bluegrass Special album. Although “Big Ball in Brooklyn” didn’t make the final cut on the album, the studio recording was included on singles collections from Decca and Bear Family Records, but you’ll need to tap Spotify to hear that version. This rare live recording from 1963 with Del McCoury on guitar, Bill Keith on banjo, and Kenny Baker on fiddle captures the raw energy of the song as performed at Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival. Monroe claimed credit for the song, but earlier settings of the piece with a variety of titles were recorded by the likes of Gid Tanner & the Skillet Lickers and many others. As Mike notes, the break is based on one of Monroe’s favorite licks, a fiddle line from the instrumental “Roanoke.” Mike teaches the whole break in this video.
