Monroe, the architect of bluegrass and a patron saint of country music, would have turned 100 on Sept. 13. He died in 1996 at the age of 84.

Monroe, born on a farm near Rosine, Ky., was already arguably country music's greatest mandolin player when he formed his Blue Grass Boys in 1938 and began refining his sound.

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Bluegrass history is likely to be made in Owensboro this fall when dozens of hall of famers take the stage for what would have been Bill Monroe's 100th birthday.

Blue Grass Boy: The Story of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass Music Barb Rosenstock, illus. by Edwin Fotheringham. Calkins Creek, $17.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-62979-439-6 ...

Click to open image viewer. The country music sound created by Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys starting in 1938, would become a new style of country music named "bluegrass." CC0 Usage Conditions ...

Bluegrass music wasn’t created in a sound studio or concert hall. Instead, it developed at the home of Bill Monroe, where he played the mandolin as a child with his family.