While Stanley really needs little introduction, you can read a short one that Hilary Langford wrote in our preview of his performance at the 2012 Richmond Folk Fest, during which he wowed a huge Richmond audience. The Clinch Mountain Boys were the first bluegrass act to record a cappella gospel hymns, in 1971. He began performing with his older brother Carter as the Stanley Brothers, securing a daily slot on the radio station WNVA.
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“I didn’t think the song needed a banjo”, Mr. Stanley said in his memoir.
Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) mourns the loss of bluegrass music legend, Dr. Ralph Stanley. The term “bluegrass” – which Stanley never liked – hadn’t yet been invented, and he called it “old-time mountain soul”. Further details about Stanley’s death were not immediately available. Family members say he passed away Thursday night at his home in Virginia after a battle with skin cancer.
At the turn of the century, Ralph Stanley enjoyed an unexpected career renaissance due to his involvement in the blockbuster film O Brother, Where Art Thou? He played second fiddle (okay, actually banjo) to his older brother back then, but sang the distinctive high harmony parts.
The favorite lead singer of many fans, Carter authored endearing classics such as “The White Dove” and “The Lonesome River”. It was a banjo his aunt used to own, and Ralph Stanley took to it immediately. His brother had been the main songwriter, lead singer, and frontman. “We always stayed true to the old-timey style, ” Stanley said from his home in Coeburn, Va., near the coal country where he grew up.
He carried the ancient sounds from God knows where, said Skaggs, who started playing with Stanley as a teenager. “The old-time mountain music … was born and bred in me, I guess”, he told the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer in 2002.
When Columbia signed the Stanley Brothers, Monroe left the label in protest, telling Columbia that if it wanted these new bluegrass guys that badly, there obviously wasn’t room for him.
He also was honored for his work and contributions on several occasions throughout his long career, including receiving the “Living Legend” medal from The Library of Congress in 2000.
In 2000, Stanley, age 73 and still going strong, was introduced to a new generation of fans with his moving a cappella song “O Death” from the hit “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” movie soundtrack. The soundtrack rocketed onto and up the charts, topping the Billboard 200, in addition to being number one on the country album and soundtrack charts. Afterward, Ralph joined the Clinch Mountain Boys and he became a staple of the bluegrass festival scene – often performing 250 shows a year. He had that magical quality about him, that when you heard him, theres something about it that really touches you deeply. “And he could make you want to cry, laugh or dance”.
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“That’s my religion, ” Dylan said of the Stanley Brothers” music in a “96 interview. Stanley’s son, Ralph II, also sang with the group, which continued to tour extensively, including an appearance at the 2007 Bonnaroo festival shortly after their leader’s 80th birthday.
