Deep in the Bosom of Bluegrass
I am not a man who plucks the subject of cleavage out of thin air, but neither do I shrink from cleavage when it is thrust upon me. So it is with serious purpose that I turn to the topographical features of Rhonda Vincent. In the liner photos for her new album, Good Thing Going, the effervescent bluegrass star once again exhibits some intriguing studies in light and shadow. One picture shows her lying on her back in the grass, pensively gazing at the sky while clasping the neck of her mandolin just to the side of her precipitously plunging neckline. Looking closely at the photo (and choking back sounds generally associated with the last stages of waterboarding), I concluded this was not a candid shot, not something that could be dismissed as the accidental slip of a strap or failure of a button. No, it was a deliberate display of the goods. And bravo for her. The peek-a-boo theme has been common to her album and publicity art since at least as far back as her One Step Ahead CD of 2003. On that cover, she strides across a street wearing a top that bares both cleavage and navel. I count this the most important advance in bluegrass music since Bill Monroe hired Flatt and Scruggs.
As one who is pure of heart, I barely took notice of Vincent’s stylistic swashbuckling until it came up at the 2003 International Country Music Conference. There, on a panel called “Country Music and Gender,” banjo player and magazine columnist Murphy Henry grouched about Vincent’s recent epidermal revelations and then flatly declared, “You don’t show cleavage in bluegrass!” That outraged me. How dare she, I thought, put such a rack on the rack? I was on the verge of withering her with a spirited defense of cleavage as an instrument of free expression, but then it occurred to me that someone might think my motivation was more carnal than Constitutional. So I cravenly kept my mouth shut. It is a shame I will carry with me the rest of my life. Forgive me, Rhonda, and keep up the good works.
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OutlawSteph says:
I don’t think Murphy Henry helps the cause of women in bluegrass. Her rants hurt us.
I see a lot of diversity in bluegrass today, and I’m proud of that.
Rhonda Vincent looks great.. but the proof is in the picking.
-Stephanie
J.D.Rhynes says:
Hooray for MR.Morris’s comments on the First Lady of Bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent! I have known Rhonda and her wonderful family since 1984, and she has always comported herself as the Lady that she is. To those that want to ridicule her for the physical attributes that God endowed her with, this is all that I have to say to them; Maybe you should make the effort that Rhonda has obviously made, to keep yourself in shape, eat right, and lose 40 pounds or so, then it’ll be someone else criticizing you for looking so good! Can you handle the criticism with the grace that Rhonda does? I would hope so.
Dave says:
Murphy Henry is jealous of Rhonda Vincent anyway, LOL! You think anyone would want to see her cleavage? Well, perhaps…….if she had some.
Dean says:
I don’t think the effort here is to criticize Murphy, whose contributions to the music we love are significant and numerous. Rather, let’s think of this as a light-hearted LOOK at the very hard-working and spirited Rhonda, and her desire to inspire through music (and attire).
Dennis says:
God Bless America and Bluegrass music!
Alison says:
Far from criticizing Rhonda for showing cleavage, Murphy was trying to highlight the fact that Rhonda is pretty much the first, since the Stonemans, to use her sexuality as part of her appeal. It’s a new development in the bluegrass music industry. Before Rhonda the _prevailing_ sentiment in the bluegrass community at large had been “you don’t show clevage in bluegrass.” That has now changed and that is worth pointing out. It is a sign of the larger music industry’s influence on bluegrass, especially from a marketing standpoint.
Mike says:
A garbled ,misinterpreted, partial quotation taken out of context and stripped of its tongue-in-cheek tone does not, a rant make.
Tim says:
Rhonda is a bright, refreshing light, an in-your-face burst of energy… and she looks pretty good, too. However, I tend to agree with “Mike”. Let’s not crucify Murphy for a few words likely taken out of context. I have great respect for all the “women of bluegrass”…. and both women are on my top-10 list.
Bruce Dalcher says:
Speaking as one who has known Murphy Henry very well for long enough to have changed Casey’s diapers, I agree with those who think perhaps her remarks were taken slightly out of context here. Having no personal experience, on the other hand, of either Murphy’s or Rhonda Vincent’s bosoms, all I could do was glance at the photo that headed this discussion thread. My word! If THAT is considered particularly revealing, then I am indeed from Mars. Sorry folks, but I’m used to much vaster panoplies of pulchritude where sex is the chosen agent for sales.
Rhonda Vincent Notches Another Entertainer of the Year Win at Bluegrass Awards — The 9513 says:
[...] 2002 and this year was no different. Check out Edward Morris’ recap of the evening. And in light of a recent topic surrounding Vincent, there might be some sort of subliminal message in the title of this [...]