Bill Jorgenson (December 22, 1930 – February 5, 2007) was an American bluegrass musician. He was born in

Ahnapee, Wisconsin Ahnapee is a town (Wisconsin), town in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States, on the Ahnapee River. The population was 940 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Bruemmerv ...

, and grew up in nearby

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,066. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. The dangero ...

USA. He was primarily noted for being the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass, a title given to him by

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

Biography at allmusic.com A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

Jason Ankeny, Retrieved September 5, 2007 Jorgenson began playing the guitar after listening to the WLS

National Barn Dance ''National Barn Dance'', broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. ''National Barn Dance'' also set the stage for other ...

on the radio. He switched from traditional

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

to bluegrass while in

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. After he returned to Door County, he began performing in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. He was once the

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

for

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

and

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

at the

Milwaukee Auditorium Miller High Life Theatre (previously Milwaukee Theatre and originally Milwaukee Auditorium) is a theatre located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was extensively renovated between 2001 and 2003, at which point its name changed to the Milwauk ...

, and briefly had his own local

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

. He launched the Glenmore Opera House, and started the Heritage Farm Bluegrass Festival. He regularly performed free performances at

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

in northeast

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Jorgenson performed for 65 years. In 1998 he was inducted to America's Old-Time Country Music Hall Of Fame. Late in his career he began releasing his music on

CDs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

. In 2001 he released the CDs ''Amberlee'', ''The Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass'', and ''Bluegrass in the Northwoods''. He died on February 5, 2007, days after suffering a massive stroke.

References

External links

Official websiteMemorial at The Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorgenson, Bill 1930 births 2007 deaths American bluegrass musicians American country singer-songwriters People from Ahnapee, Wisconsin 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin