Rocketman | Iron Horse
Bluegrass music was developed in the United States Appalachian region back in the 1940s. The music genre got its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. It’s played using traditional acoustic stringed musical instruments. When talking about its roots, Wikipedia says:
“Bluegrass has roots in traditional English, Scottish and Irish ballads and dance tunes, and in traditional African-American blues and jazz.”
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs were the pioneers of mixing other musical genres into bluegrass in the 1960s. Groups like The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene also followed and adapted to this idea by starting to record or perform bluegrass covers on live concerts as well. More bluegrass bands emerged in the 21st century, which became famous for this tradition.
Have you heard of the band Iron Horse?
Source: YouTube Screenshot-iDIMi
The Iron Horse is a bluegrass band from Killen, Alabama, and they’re known for their bluegrass covers of rock songs.
The band consists of members Tony Robertson on mandolin, Vance Henry on guitar, Ricky Rogers on bass, and Anthony Richardson on banjo.
Source: YouTube Screenshot-iDIMi
The band became widely known because of their bluegrass version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
Still, that’s not all—they had a bluegrass spin of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” which racked up 7.9 million views on YouTube.
They created an amazing version of Elton John’s classic, this performance of Iron Horse is beautiful both to the eyes and ears.
The video begins with a countdown.
When the countdown reaches zero, the band kicks off with a slow, dramatic intro emphasizing the vocals while accompanied by a soft-strummed instrumental.
Source: YouTube Screenshot-iDIMi
Just like in the video, the band sky-rockets straight to cloud nine, and then comes the harmonic sound from their stringed instruments.
Their stringed instruments were the very soul of bluegrass.
Source: YouTube Screenshot-iDIMi
If you’re not familiar with this genre, then you might find their music mesmerizing.
The harmony that their musical instruments create is really beyond entertaining and awesome all the same time.
The flat-picking of the banjo and mandolin was also impressive. However, their vocal blends also added an aesthetic flavor that sounds so soothing to the ears.
As the band comes close to the song’s end, this talented quartet once again flaunts their out of this world skills. At the last minute of the song, the band breaks into another round of instrumental piece. Call them genius because there’s no other word that best describes this band.
Once again, the band sang the chorus of the song and abruptly finishing it with a single-strummed chord. The only difference between Elton John’s song and Iron Horse’s was the way they delivered the song’s message.
Elton John’s original version of “Rocket Man” was full of sadness, but with a bit of hope in the chorus.
However, in Iron Horse’s version of the song, you could also hear all sorts of other sounds in the recording. The song became fast-paced and exhilarating—and it gives you a sudden boost of energy. They sure changed most of the instrumental parts of the song, but they were still very careful about not messing with its important parts – especially its heartfelt message.
Elton John and the Iron Horse’s versions were totally different, but both were wonderfully made.
This group of musical genius turned a classic into a bluegrass version and it didn’t disappoint. It simply shows that change is oftentimes good, especially when it’s done to an already beautiful piece of music. If you want to hear more of their works, be sure to check out their website for more performances