Articles & Essays

     During his active career Rosenberg presented dozens of seminars, lectures, and workshops in Canada, Europe, and the United States, to academic and fan audiences alike. He authored a multitude of important historical articles, discographies, and liner notes for numerous recorded bluegrass albums; and he wrote more than 40 reviews of records and books. Many of his works were based on extensive recorded interviews.

 
    Neil Rosenberg has contributed hundreds of articles and reviews to both scholarly and popular publications, including Ethnomusicology, the Journal of American Folklore, and the JEMF Quarterly. He contributed additional entries to the New Grove Dictionary, The Bluegrass Reader and The Oxford Handbook of Music Revival.

Here are a few particularly significant titles related to his longstanding interest in bluegrass music:

“From Sound to Style: The Emergence of Bluegrass,” Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 80, No. 316 (Apr.- Jun., 1967), pp. 143-150.

The second-ever published academic article on bluegrass music. The first was by Neil's oldest friend and colleague, Mayne Smith: “An Introduction to Bluegrass,” Journal of American Folklore 78 (1965), 245-56.  

“The Osborne Brothers” Bluegrass Unlimited

“Part One, Family and Apprenticeship,” (September 1971, No. 6, Vol. 3)

“Part Two: Getting It Off,” (September 1971, No. 6, Vol. 5)

A detailed and thoroughly-documented early history of this groundbreaking group, based on Rosenberg’s interviews and other sources.

“Into Bluegrass: The History of a Word,” Muleskinner News, August 1974.

This piece explores the origins and evolution of the term "bluegrass." Rosenberg examines how the word came to define a distinct style of music associated with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys

“Thirty Years Ago This Month,” Bluegrass Unlimited, 1981–1993.

A monthly column emphasizing and reporting the cumulative history of the music and its artists.

“Image and Stereotype: Bluegrass Sound Tracks.” American Music, 1983, pp. 1-22.

This important article explores how bluegrass music—especially the five-string banjo—has been used in film and television soundtracks to evoke specific cultural images and stereotypes.

“Bluegrass, Rock and Roll, and ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’,” Southern Quarterly 22.3, 1984, p. 66.

Reveals the fascinating relationship between early bluegrass and rock and roll, particularly how bluegrass influenced the development of rockabilly music.