Mike Compton (born 1956) is a mandolin player, singer, and teacher from Meridian, Mississippi. Bill Monroe mentored him, and he is known above all for his deep study of Monroe’s mandolin style. He co-founded the Nashville Bluegrass Band in the mid-1980s, toured with John Hartford, and played mandolin on the Grammy-winning O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. He has played on more than 120 recordings and runs the annual Monroe Mandolin Camp in Nashville.
Why Compton matters
When players want to learn how Bill Monroe played, they go to Compton. He has spent his career on Monroe’s tone, timing, and right hand, and he teaches it in detail at his camp, at workshops, and in online courses. He also shows that Monroe’s style is not a museum piece. He plays it with old-time musicians, blues players, and rock stars, and it fits.
Life and career
Compton was born on February 29, 1956, in Meridian, Mississippi. His great-grandfather was an old-time fiddler. He started on trombone, switched to guitar, then took up mandolin as a teen, playing old-time music with a cousin. He fell for Bill Monroe’s style and met Monroe at the Bean Blossom festival in 1975.
After junior college he moved to Nashville and joined Hubert Davis and the Season Travelers in 1977. He left in 1981 and worked day jobs as a cook and a printer. In the mid-1980s he co-founded the Nashville Bluegrass Band. After a bus accident injured a bandmate, he stepped back and moved to the Catskills for a time. In 1995 he recorded with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, and in the mid-1990s he toured and recorded with John Hartford.
Producer T Bone Burnett chose him to play mandolin on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and tour. That album won the 2002 Grammy for Album of the Year. Compton rejoined the Nashville Bluegrass Band in 2000. He also tours as a duo with Joe Newberry, plays in the Helen Highwater String Band with David Grier, and performs solo. He has recorded with Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Elvis Costello, Sting, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton.
Playing style
Compton plays Monroe style from the inside. He uses Monroe’s heavy downstroke attack, his bluesy slides and bends, and his habit of building tension with repeated phrases. He pays close attention to where Monroe placed notes against the beat, which is the hardest thing to copy.
He is a master of the mandolin’s high register. In his lesson on Monroe’s Tennessee Blues he teaches the “fancy high part” up to the 15th fret, with sliding double stops up the neck. His rhythm is old-school and powerful, a chop that pushes the band forward.
Influences and legacy
Compton’s teacher was Bill Monroe. He has played beside Hubert Davis, John Hartford, Joe Newberry, David Grier, Shad Cobb, Missy Raines, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright, Alan O’Bryant, and Stuart Duncan.
He shared the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s mandolin chair over the years with Roland White. Through his camp and courses, Compton has passed Monroe’s style to a new generation. Ricky Skaggs, who first played with Monroe as a boy, carries the same tradition on the big stage.
Signature tunes and songs
Tennessee Blues Little Maggie Time Changes Everything.
Essential recordings
O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (2000) Nashville Bluegrass Band recordings (Rounder and Sugar Hill)
Awards and honors
IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee (2001, 2002) Grammy Award, Album of the Year, O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (2002) Commendation, Mississippi State Senate
Watch and listen
Compton introduces his Monroe-style mandolin course for Peghead Nation and plays examples.
What to learn from Compton
Learn Monroe’s Tennessee Blues, then focus on one thing: the downstroke. Play the whole tune with downstrokes wherever you can, and lean into each one. You will hear your tone get bigger and your timing get stronger. That heavy attack is the heart of Monroe’s sound, and it is the first thing Compton teaches.
Sources
Mike Compton (musician), Wikipedia Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton, Peghead Nation Nashville Bluegrass Band, Wikipedia
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Compton learned from Bill Monroe. Roland White also played mandolin in the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Ricky Skaggs carries the Monroe sound in his own way.