stanleytone - Posted - 07/04/2010:  03:37:38

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I've been playng bluegrass for years and i have always wonderd whats the deal with the cowboy hats? Iknow that Bill Monroe at one time wore riding pants and a kind of steston hat,but it wasnt what id call a cowboy hat.But it seems that most if not all the first generations bluegrassers wore them at one time or another.,and of course many bands still wear them ,and some mighty big rimmed ones at that!Now bluegrass is mainly southern /mountain in its origins,and im just wondering how/why the cowboy hat,which is mostly a west-of-the missisppi thing,found its way so prominatley into the bluegrass music scene.Now youll see the bands with them on stage,but not as much in the jammin scene .i know that a band onnstage can look mighty sharp in their suits and cowboy hats,but i m just curious as to what statement the cowboy hat makes,if any.
i mean you never hear songs about ropin cattle,breakin a horse or driving a herd across the praire.
I know good musicians who said they refused to join a band because they wouldnt wear one. bands like LRB and 3RDTO never wear them.Seems the more traditional the band,the more likely youll see the hats worn.
i play a lot of stanley music ,but id look like a dork with one on(but id sure wear it if i could be on stage with ralph!)

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Edited by - Bill Rogers on 07/05/2010 19:42:35

chaosfrailer - Posted - 07/04/2010:  03:57:32

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I guess a lot of people wear them just because they look sharp. If I pay to see a show, I want the band to come out looking sharp with cowboy hats, tailored suits, and proffessional manners. There is nothing worse than paying $20+ to see a bluegrass show, and the band comes out with torn jeans and club shirts and a five o'clock shadow. So unproffessional.

huggie - Posted - 07/04/2010:  03:59:33

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so thats where i'm going wrong!I must rush out and buy a cowboy hat and see if it really improves my playing.

steve davis - Posted - 07/04/2010:  04:07:46

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I don't wear tall hats.It gets knocked off when I walk through a doorway and
cowboy hats don't get seen much in Maine...just doesn't apply,here.

banjolion - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:10:47

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This was a time when cowboys were common in the movies (which of course were shown all over the US, not just in the West). Western bands...Bob Wells, Sons of the Pioneers, etc. were using the cowboy theme. Although not eastern, cowboys were "country" and Eastern mountian folks were "country." Country music was developing into "country and western" music and eventually was promoted that way by the music business. These may be some the reasons the Eastern blue grass country bands picked up on the cowboy theme.

robmac07 - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:13:51

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My theory for what it's worth is an image thing. The old time string bands and singers from the east just wore their Sunday best or dressed up or wore work clothes or whatever. When stars like Jimmie Rodgers emerged in the early country scene they wore more western looking hats. With the emergence of the 'Singing Cowboy' movies with folks like Gene Autry etc which were western the appeal to the wider public grew and so when the Eastern old time country lead to C&W, Bluegrass and the 'hat acts' of Nashville etc it was a more popular 'pioneering' look than say the then badly misrepresented 'Hillbilly' look. I, like you wondered why South Eastern Country and Bluegrass musicians wore the western hats etc and I guess it was more accepted by the wider public and has perservered to this day with Country. There was a big influence of the Western movies down here in Australia and so the early bush country balladeers adopted the American Western look with an Aussie flavor in preference to the rough outback Bushman look. Ironically they were usually referred to as Hillbilly singers. Nowadays they are just called Bush Balladeers.

eagleisland - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:14:48

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quote:

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Originally posted by steve davis

I don't wear tall hats.It gets knocked off when I walk through a doorway and
cowboy hats don't get seen much in Maine...just doesn't apply,here.

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Steve's a tall dude, which explains his issues with doorways.

That fact notwithstanding, he's completely correct about the impropriety of cowboy hats around here. Acceptable headwear in Maine is limited to essentially two styles - baseball caps and woolen watch caps, known to our neighbors to the north as "tewks." One switches between the two at about 15 degrees Farenheit.

Within the sphere of baseball caps, only a handful of identifying logos are permitted:

1) Red Sox
2) Caterpillar
3) John Deere

Anyone violating the above will be bound, gagged, tossed into either the back of a pickup truck or the trunk of a pre-1990 Ford-built sedan and driven south through New Hampshire and thence across the Massachusetts border, where they will be released unharmed.

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Edited by - eagleisland on 07/04/2010 05:27:44

Mumble Peg - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:18:20

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Cowboys and Southern farmers back in the early part of the last century always wore wide brim hats to avoid:

RED NECK

sjyokel - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:30:46

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In a book called "Bossmen" about Bill Monroe and Muddy Waters, Monroe says he dressed up the band because he wanted to be taken seriously, and one of the other benefits was that nobody bothered them on the road, because they looked like the Law.

stanleytone - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:36:35

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some good replies here! now i guess my next question is........ do the guys who wear the cowboy hats when on stage,do they wear them arouind the house,at wal mart,etc.?

Horseshoot - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:45:14

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eagleisland, you left out the Carhart logo. I see a lot of them around here! I like hats, in general, but have never been a fan of cowboy hats. I just wear what I want, when I want to. But I rarely wear one when I play. I learned, from musical theatre, that if you are going to wear a hat when you perform, you need to wear one when you practice. Otherwise, you are in for a surprise, as the hat will make your feedback sound differently to you. Mike

Texasbanjo - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:52:45

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In West Texas when a man puts on his cowboy hat, he wears it all the time -- in the house, in restaurants, at festivals, at work, etc. Same way for baseball caps -- wear them all the time.

I hate to go to a bluegrass festival and get behind some guy in a tall cowboy hat -- can't see around him -- but you dare not ask them to take it off, it's an affront to their manhood or something.

eagleisland - Posted - 07/04/2010:  05:56:24

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quote:

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Originally posted by Horseshoot

eagleisland, you left out the Carhart logo.

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Carhartt logos are acceptable on your bibs, not on your hat. They started gettin' all fancy back in the 1990s when the hip hoppers latched on to the brand. Dollars to donuts the hats you're seeing are on them UMF kids.

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Edited by - eagleisland on 07/04/2010 05:58:49

Bayou Talker - Posted - 07/04/2010:  06:19:16

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Don't waste the money. I own several cowboy hats and they sure didn't help me. Of course I have not tried wearing them while I play.

quote:

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Originally posted by huggie

so thats where i'm going wrong!I must rush out and buy a cowboy hat and see if it really improves my playing.

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Bayou Talker - Posted - 07/04/2010:  06:25:31

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Just remember those hats were a part of West Texas before there were restaurants and festivals. A man's hat was sometimes the difference between life and death in the Texas heat and sun. It was used for many purposes other than covering the head such as dipping water on a hot day. To a Texan a hat is not just an article of clothing it is a way of life and a link to their history. Today it is not just life or death, it is much more important than that.

quote:

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Originally posted by Texasbanjo

In West Texas when a man puts on his cowboy hat, he wears it all the time -- in the house, in restaurants, at festivals, at work, etc. Same way for baseball caps -- wear them all the time.

I hate to go to a bluegrass festival and get behind some guy in a tall cowboy hat -- can't see around him -- but you dare not ask them to take it off, it's an affront to their manhood or something.

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coelhoe - Posted - 07/04/2010:  06:36:58

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When Bill Monroe and his brother Charlie started performing in Gary, Indiana, (hardly a western venue) in the mid-1930's, they wore the "Southern Gentleman" sort of hat as formal on-stage costume. And, of course, felt hats were expected wear for men until the mid-1950's. But I think it is an error to associate Monroe's music specifically with "southern mountains," and expect his costume to follow. The Rosine, Kentucky, area of Bill's home is quite close to the Ohio river in a cultural geographic setting of mixed history and varied musical and cultural influences, not least African-American and German.

But I think the hats were more of an attempt to establish a stage persona of professionalism, a movement away from the slap-dash clothing of the comedic and rowdy string bands. Those copying Monroe's music, also copied his stage persona, including for example The Stanleys, along with Flatt and Scruggs, suits and hats, a uniform made more specific by the rural rube outfit of the band comedians such as Stringbean, Uncle Josh, Speck Rhodes, Rod Brasefield, Grandpa Jones, and many others, including Minnie Pearl.

Alex Z - Posted - 07/04/2010:  06:41:12

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A hat is a functional piece of clothing, as Bayou Talker notes. Protection from sun, rain, etc.

An old time southern gentlemen will remove his hat indoors, unless the hat is part of a work apparel and he is working, such as construction hard hat, police officer on duty, etc.

Now, when some otherwise civilized person wears his cowboy hat or feed cap whilst eating in a restaurant, that's not much different from wearing a halloween costume or displaying a vanity license plate.

Wearing a hat on stage can be considered part of the performance costume.

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Edited by - Alex Z on 07/04/2010 06:42:46

Jeff 1965 - Posted - 07/04/2010:  06:42:31

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Cowboy hats help the player hear the instrument better. Instead of the sound waves traveling past the ear and over the head, they get reflected off the bottom of the cowboy hat towards the ear. Some sort of metal cowboy hat would work best.

It's like dogs with big floppy ears. The big floppy ears help a dog sniff things by keeping the odors closer to the ground, near the nose.

Hotrodtruck - Posted - 07/04/2010:  06:51:23

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chaosfrailer says: "There is nothing worse than paying $20+ to see a bluegrass show, and the band comes out with torn jeans and club shirts and a five o'clock shadow. So unproffessional."

I'm with you chaosfrailer. The grubby, down-and-out on their luck appearance is O.K. for the hip rock dude. I'm afraid it's a sign of the times though. The gang-banger look is creeping in with baggy pants, backwards baseball caps that are, somehow, not made quite right, etc.

Mike

McUtsi - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:06:07

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Heritage factor +...well,some guys feel sharp & cool in classic headwear,but don´t
have the guts to put on a Stetson or whatever,and Country-,Bluegrass- or 40´s theme
get-togethers etc provide them w/ a "right on"...it´s only human...McUtsi

steve davis - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:07:17

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I think the hat fits the work of the area.
Fishermen like ball caps or woolen stocking caps(watchcaps) because if the wind
blows it off your head you can come around with the boat,gaff it out of the water,
slat it on the washboard and put it back on your head in a relatively dry state.

Deaf David - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:24:45

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From when the music was first beginning until the very early 60s most men wore a brimmed hat of some sort. I once attended a history lecture in which the claim was made that it would have been considered improper for any male to be in public event without a fedora--until John Kennedy's inauguration. This was also the first inaugaration to be nationally televised live, and the man had no hat! Very quickly men began going topless all across the nation.

The old saying about "wearing a different hat" refers to those pre-Kennedy days when you could know a man's station in life by the style of hat he wore. Different occupations had distinctive hats and one's station was communicated by the quality of the hat and how it was worn. The etiquette for when to take of the hat was simple: if standing wear it, take it off when you sit.

So, it would seem obvious that a band in the 30's and forties that wanted to be taken seriously would wear a brimmed hat while standing on stage. My question is why a "cowboy" hat? There were many more options in very stylish hat wear at the time.

It is true that the "western" books and movies of the time were very romanticized versions of a recently passed era and the cowboys were the heros of that age. Bill Monroe did play for awhile in the more western areas and dabbled in western swing-ish music styles.

Does anyone know at what point in his career he began dressing his band in cowboy hats?

Imagine if Bill Monroe had opted for a Bogart style fedora instead. Something just not quite right about that style fedora and a banjo!

One last tidbit: I once read that the reason Earl wore his banjo strap over just one shoulder was so he wouldn't have to take off his hat when changing from banjo to guitar on stage.

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Edited by - Deaf David on 07/04/2010 07:32:57

Horseshoot - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:27:03

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You are probably right, Skip.

Bayou Talker - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:29:55

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Maybe they chose cowboy hats to stand out from the crowd??

pfunk - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:31:02

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I think Ralph mentions in his book that they wanted to appear as a southern gentleman. He even describes the style of hat, brim width, etc.

stanleytone - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:33:09

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man i love the the old fedora look with the double breasted suits and stuff
such a kool look
weve just gotten so casual today
people knew how to dress back then .

steve davis - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:34:12

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There's a great episode of "Are You Being Served" that plays with the hat
matching the pecking order.

Deaf David - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:36:28

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For what it's worth, until it gets cold enough to wear a sockhat, I usually wear a brimmed hat. Temp is in the mid-nineties right now in Kentucky and I'm going to be putting up square bails of hay all week. A brimmed hat will be a friend, indeed.

The only use I've ever seen of a baseball cap is that its easier to swat bees and wasps with a cap than with a real hat.

steve davis - Posted - 07/04/2010:  07:43:41

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I like ballcaps because I can stick my ponytail out through that opening in the back,
not having to bother with an elastic hairtie.

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 07/04/2010:  10:27:46

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The truth of the matter is one does not need a cowboy hat to play banjo.
However, and this is critical: one cannot really play banjo without a good pair of boots.

Bayou Talker - Posted - 07/04/2010:  10:39:34

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But what kind of boots are correct??

quote:

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Originally posted by Brooklynbanjoboy

The truth of the matter is one does not need a cowboy hat to play banjo.
However, and this is critical: one cannot really play banjo without a good pair of boots.

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tom elder - Posted - 07/04/2010:  10:54:27

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i have heard they do aid the hearing .

dlc - Posted - 07/04/2010:  11:22:41

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To me, it's SHOW business.

I understand why the great acts wore hats in the past. It was the cultural norm. But today, hats make more of a statement.

Hats are a nice costume element, and the style of hat can help make a strong statement about the intended character of the music and the overall personality of the band. Derbies, fedoras, newsboy caps, homburgs, Stetsons, even those straw beach hats can project a certain personality.

Sure, a group can get onstage and play and sing good, and the crowd will usually appreciate it. But live music is also a visual thing. Add a few costuming accessories and interesting visual cues, and even an average bluegrass band will be remembered a lot longer, and with more fondness, than a more technically advanced band that doesn't look like it bothered to make a visual impression.

Go out and play your music well, and you have a performance. Go out and give the crowd all you can in every way you can, including your appearance, and you have a SHOW!

(And, as an amateur but avid lifelong student of American history, I can't help noticing that hats - once a must-have for every male in the United States, according to period documentary photographs - began becoming more and more scarce around the time showers became more and more common in home bathrooms. Could it be that one reason hats were worn was to cover up dirty hair? Just a theory.)

Anyway, LOVE those hats!

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Edited by - dlc on 07/04/2010 11:38:59

1four5 - Posted - 07/04/2010:  12:01:43

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I bought a ball cap in Kennebunk Main. They make ball caps in main that fit your head right, instead of them stupid high crowned plastic mesh things. I wear my Maine cap everywhere. I also wear it when we play bluegrass. I wear my cowboy hat for country sets.

JAzbo - Posted - 07/04/2010:  12:09:34

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To my friends in Maine....
I just moved to New Hampshire from Wyoming, where cowboy hats and other western attire are as common, I would guess, as in Texas. So far, nobody in this part of New England has threatened to hog-tie me and send me to Mass. I will continue wearing mine until I do get dry-gulched. It could be said that when cowboy hats are outlawed, only outlaws will wear cowboy hats.

I am intrigued by the idea that sound bouncing off the underside of the brim will help you hear better. I reckon I will put this idea to a test.

Julio B - Posted - 07/04/2010:  12:28:09

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You should listen to Joe Val's, "Goodbye Old Pal." There are many others, in addition, such as "Diamond Joe."
~Julio



"you never hear songs about ropin cattle,breakin a horse or driving a herd across the praire."

eagleisland - Posted - 07/04/2010:  13:18:55

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quote:

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Originally posted by JAzbo

To my friends in Maine....
I just moved to New Hampshire from Wyoming, where cowboy hats and other western attire are as common, I would guess, as in Texas. So far, nobody in this part of New England has threatened to hog-tie me and send me to Mass. I will continue wearing mine until I do get dry-gulched. It could be said that when cowboy hats are outlawed, only outlaws will wear cowboy hats.

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That's because you're in New Hampshire - or, as we in Maine like to think of it, "North Massachusetts."

The Mighty Ant - Posted - 07/04/2010:  14:01:50

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quote:

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. There is nothing worse than paying $20+ to see a bluegrass show, and the band comes out with torn jeans and club shirts and a five o'clock shadow. So unproffessional.'

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Actually, what you describe there is my preferance.

I've been a member ow 2 traveling bluegrass bands and in both we ALWAYS dressed very casual.

And thats how I like to see a band as well.

If I had to get all duded up to play music I'd quit and look for another group to play with.


Mike

ThomasJay107 - Posted - 07/04/2010:  14:10:14

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quote:

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Originally posted by eagleisland

[quote]Originally posted by steve davis



Anyone violating the above will be bound, gagged, tossed into either the back of a pickup truck or the trunk of a pre-1990 Ford-built sedan and driven south through New Hampshire and thence across the Massachusetts border, where they will be released unharmed.

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Is that why we've been getting all these confused guys wearing weird hats staggering through Boston?? We've been pretty confused as to how they got here!

eagleisland - Posted - 07/04/2010:  17:04:59

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quote:

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Originally posted by ThomasJay107

quote:

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Originally posted by eagleisland

[quote]Originally posted by steve davis



Anyone violating the above will be bound, gagged, tossed into either the back of a pickup truck or the trunk of a pre-1990 Ford-built sedan and driven south through New Hampshire and thence across the Massachusetts border, where they will be released unharmed.

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Is that why we've been getting all these confused guys wearing weird hats staggering through Boston?? We've been pretty confused as to how they got here!

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Naah. They missed a turn trying to get to New Hampshire.

Eastbaygeorge - Posted - 07/04/2010:  17:11:30

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I'm totally down with the "look sharp" theory of performing. My band is a pretty small potatoes outfit, but we (mostly) dress pretty sharp in retro cowboy attire. This fits our repertoire, which has a lot of cowboy and Americana songs. Our fiddle player is more casual, but he's such a good fiddler and great harmony singer we cut him slack.

I like my cowboy hats, (straw in summer, black felt in winter) because they cover my bald spot, and the black one keeps my head comfortable in cold weather.

I read a book of advice to guitarists once where the author said, "If you finish a gig and go into a 7-eleven to get a soda and you don't feel a little uncomfortable in your stage clothes, you didn't dress up enough.

The Prairie Rose Band

AndyM - Posted - 07/04/2010:  17:58:20

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Ya'll know why cowboys roll the sides of their hats up?

Scroll down....









So's three of them will fit in the front seat of a pickup truck.....

Rob Bourassa - Posted - 07/04/2010:  19:44:56

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Sometimes, bands are sponsored by corporations. I had to wear a cowboy hat, though I didn't wear one around town. It was part of my uniform, and where ever I played for Stroh's Beer, we had the hats, belt buckles and shirts with Stroh's insignia.

I always felt a bit phony, because I wasn't much of a cowboy.

steve davis - Posted - 07/04/2010:  19:53:19

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I don't care what a performer wears...I just listen to the music.

I wear good clothes and clean up,but I don't ever think about dressing a certain way.

I play as good as I can and that's as far as I analyze it.
When I play somewhere I get hired back again,usually.

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Edited by - steve davis on 07/04/2010 19:54:46

Erbus - Posted - 07/05/2010:  07:23:01

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I'm just there for the music, don't matter to me how they look.
It's ranching country where I live and half of the "real" cowboys (the ones actually movin cows with horses) are wearing ball caps.

Terry

Dwayne Elix - Posted - 07/05/2010:  19:05:30

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Bill Monroe started in an era when all gentlemen wore hats. Nearly every man on the Opry wore a Western hat and Bill was a farmer. I guess the pants idea came from the Sons Of The Pioneers and Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. It was just the fashion thing to do at the time. The same as bluegrass performers started wearing their Sunday suits from the 1950s.

banjo321 - Posted - 07/05/2010:  19:21:21

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Have you noticed, EARL don't wear his anymore.

Penel - Posted - 07/05/2010:  22:49:04

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I just assume what ever type of hat a guy wears is one that they think the most amount of people will think is a cultural costume
and not as an attempt to coverup the fact that they're going bald.

How I figure this is because back when guys wore hats because it was a common style they always removed them when entering a house and in the presence of a lady.

Hense, when they leave hats on indoors = bald.

dmiller - Posted - 07/05/2010:  22:57:56

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quote:

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Originally posted by banjo321

Have you noticed, EARL don't wear his anymore.

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He's his own boss now, too.