Butch Robins (born 1949) is a Virginia banjo player who spent four years, 1977 to 1981, as Bill Monroe’s banjo player and an earlier stint playing bass in New Grass Revival. That double résumé earned him the tag “the one and only New Grass and Blue Grass Boy.” He has also spent decades documenting first-generation bluegrass on video, from Snuffy Jenkins to his own lessons.
Why Robins matters
Robins knows both ends of bluegrass. He played the hardest traditional chair in the music for Monroe, and he played with the band that launched newgrass. He also sought out the first generation of players at festivals and fiddlers’ conventions in the 1960s. His films and his book What I Know ‘Bout What I Know preserve what he learned. His video on the difference between Scruggs style and melodic style is a useful lesson for any student.
Life and career
Robins was born on May 12, 1949, in Lebanon, Virginia. As a teenager he won major banjo contests, including Union Grove in 1967, and he played banjo workshops at Newport and Camp Springs in 1969. When he finished Dublin High School in 1967, Bill Monroe offered him a job. He played the first Bean Blossom festival, then went home, put off by low pay and long trips.
He served in the Army in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1969 to 1971, where he met Snuffy Jenkins and Pappy Sherrill. In 1971 he played with Charlie Moore and on Kenny Baker’s A Baker’s Dozen. In 1972 he toured and recorded with Leon Russell. In 1973 and 1974 he played bass in New Grass Revival. He played banjo with Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper from 1975 to 1977 and briefly with Jim and Jesse.
From 1977 to 1981 he was back with Monroe, one of Monroe’s longest-serving banjo players. His solo albums Forty Years Late (1977), dedicated to Snuffy Jenkins, Fragments of My Imagicnation (1978), and The Fifth Child (1980) came out on Rounder. In 1982 and 1983 he led the Blue Grass Band with Alan O’Bryant, Blaine Sprouse, and Ed Dye. He then left music for real estate. In 1989 he came back part-time with a new Blue Grass Band, including Dudley Connell, for a series of records on Hay Holler. His autobiography earned an IBMA nomination in 2004. In 2007 he formed the World International Blue Grass Band. He entered the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2016 and the IBMA hall of fame with New Grass Revival in 2020.
Playing style
Robins plays Scruggs-based banjo with a deep knowledge of the early styles, and he uses melodic runs when a tune calls for them. In his own videos he shows both side by side. He also plays Monroe fiddle tunes like Jerusalem Ridge on banjo.
Influences and legacy
Robins learned from the first generation of bluegrass musicians, including Snuffy Jenkins, Bill Monroe, and Kenny Baker. He played beside Sam Bush in New Grass Revival, and with Blaine Sprouse and Dudley Connell. He teaches at banjo camps like the Tennessee Banjo Institute, Midwest Banjo Camp, and Augusta, and his YouTube channel shares rare footage of early players.
Signature tunes and songs
Rawhide Jerusalem Ridge Kentucky Mandolin Cumberland Gap.
Essential recordings
A Baker’s Dozen, Kenny Baker (County, 1971) Forty Years Late (Rounder, 1977) Fragments of My Imagicnation (Rounder, 1978) The Fifth Child (Rounder, 1980)
Awards and honors
Union Grove banjo contest, first place (1967) IBMA Print Media Personality of the Year nomination, What I Know ‘Bout What I Know (2004) Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame (2016) International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, New Grass Revival (2020)
Watch and listen
Robins shows the difference between Scruggs style and melodic banjo.
Here he plays Rawhide live in 1980, during his years with Monroe.
What to learn from Robins
Watch his Scruggs versus melodic video, then play one tune both ways. The technique to steal is listening to the source. Robins learned by watching the first-generation players up close. Find an early recording of a tune you know, and learn the banjo part as it was first played before you add your own ideas.
Sources
Butch Robins, Wikipedia Robins, Butch, BluegrassBios.com
Related players
See the banjo players hub and the bluegrass banjo guide for more pickers. Robins befriended Snuffy Jenkins, recorded with Kenny Baker, and led bands with Blaine Sprouse and Dudley Connell.