Bluegrass can be dated back to the 1940s.
This genre of music was conceived by artists who borrowed elements of Jazz, Folk and Country in their personal playing styles.
Around the globe, people began to recognize commonalities of these blended sounds and eventually Bluegrass was considered a legitimate, standalone genre.
The core sounds of Bluegrass, including its stylish and offbeat rhythms, create a great opportunity for covering music from other genres. There have since been several well known music groups credited with breathing life into this tradition.
In the 1960’s, the group Flatt & Scruggs pioneered the translation of other musical genres into bluegrass. Later on, groups like The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene followed suit and adapted to this idea by recording and performing bluegrass covers on live concerts as well. Many more bluegrass bands then emerged across the 21st century and garnered great fame in the genre.
One of those groups is Iron Horse, and they have a knack for adapting classic tunes to Bluegrass.
The band consists of members Tony Robertson on mandolin, Vance Henry on guitar, Ricky Rogers on bass and Anthony Richardson on the banjo.
They initially became famous for recording bluegrass versions of rock and songs like Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
But that’s not all—they of course recorded a bluegrass version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”. The video has racked up 7.6 million views on YouTube!
The video begins with a shot of a ship in orbit and a countdown sound effect.
The band begins when the count reaches zero. The intro is slow and melodic, clearly inspired by the original track.
After a quick pause, the band syncs up to the with a single stum of their string instruments.
These exact instruments are the very soul of bluegrass music.
It is amazing how the band makes each instrument harmonize, in tune with the classic pop song.
Close up shots of the finger picking on the banjo and mandolin showcase just how impressive this performance truly is. They sing and strum their hearts out on this song.
As the song nears its end, the quartet shows off the impressive sounds of their stringed instruments once again with close-ups.
The band breaks into a final instrumental break in the last minute of the song. It’s nothing but harmonious musical passages all the way to the end.
The band sings the chorus of the song a final time and abruptly finish it together with a single, strummed chord.
The original “Rocket Man” by Elton John was melancholic, with a tinge of hopefulness in the chorus.
But Iron Horse added a collection of different energies to their version. It’s certainly more complex and gets the listener worked up and excited.
Despite the band changing most of the instrumentals, they were careful not to destroy its crucial elements, like the original message of the song.
There is no doubt that Iron Horse nailed this bluegrass rendition of Rocketman!
If you want to hear more from them, check out their website for more performance recordings like this.
Or watch the Rocketman video below!
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