# Bill Monroe — Blue Moon of Kentucky

Bill Monroe’s Blue Moon of Kentucky (1946) is No. 1 in our Bluegrass ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1946
- **Label:** Columbia
- **On one list:** Bluegrass
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Bill Monroe](https://waxonia.com/artist/bill-monroe/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/bill-monroe--blue-moon-of-kentucky/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Bluegrass](https://waxonia.com/genre/bluegrass/)

A waltz, until Elvis took it at double speed eight years later and Monroe then re-recorded it that way himself. Few records document a handover so cleanly.

## Analysis

4 sections, the first drop at 1:00, 47% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 117.5 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** C major
- **Dynamic range:** 6 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 2:08

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: other
- `0:19` A · **peak** (bar 9), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: vocals
- `1:00` B · **breakdown** (bar 30), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `1:16` B · **steady** (bar 37), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: vocals, other

**Drop** at 1:00 (bar 30). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Bill%20Monroe%20Blue%20Moon%20of%20Kentucky) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=jRYIL67ifuU)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.