Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
Band · Active 1958–1995 · Lenoir, North Carolina
Traditional Bluegrass
Carl Story was one of the earliest bluegrass-era bandleaders and the single most important figure in the development of bluegrass gospel — a sub-genre he essentially created. His band the Rambling Mountaineers recorded over 2,000 songs and more than 50 albums across a 60-year career for Mercury, Columbia, Starday, CMH, and other labels. The Oklahoma governor dubbed him “The Father of Bluegrass Gospel Music.”
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- Organized the first Rambling Mountaineers on October 13, 1934, in Lenoir NC, playing fiddle alongside banjoist Johnnie Whisnant — whose three-finger technique predated the Earl Scruggs style that later standardized bluegrass banjo.
- Joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys as fiddler in summer 1942 (replacing Howdy Forrester) and stayed until drafted into the Navy in 1943 — making him one of the actual Blue Grass Boys present when the bluegrass sound was taking shape.
- Reassembled the Rambling Mountaineers after the war in 1945 with Jack and Curley Shelton, banjoist Hoke Jenkins, and bassist Claude Boone; landed a slot on WNOX Knoxville's Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round and stayed on the station for a decade.
- Signed with Mercury in 1947; his 1949 Mercury single “Tennessee Border” stayed #1 on the Knoxville chart for 18 consecutive weeks. Cut 50 songs for Mercury across 11 sessions through 1953.
- Moved to Columbia in 1953, back to Mercury in 1955, then to Starday in 1957 where he stayed for eighteen years — the longest and most defining phase of his catalog.
- Gospel Quartet Favorites (Mercury, 1958) was the first all-bluegrass-gospel album released on a major label and effectively launched the sub-genre.
- Co-wrote “I Overlooked an Orchid,” a hit for Carl Smith in 1950 and again for Mickey Gilley in 1974.
- His Rambling Mountaineers served as a training ground for many important bluegrass musicians over five decades, including Tater Tate and Red Rector.
- Recorded for CMH Records in the mid-1970s: Mountain Music (1976), The Bluegrass Gospel Collection (1976), and A Lonesome Wail from the Hills (1977).
- Continued touring and hosting a radio show in Greer, South Carolina, until his death in 1995. Inducted into the IBMA Hall of Honor posthumously.
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Precious Memories20 Bluegrass Originals: Hymns (2009)
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Mountain Music1976 · CMH CMH 6204
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Mother’s Last Word1975 · Atteiram AP I 1520
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Sacred Songs of Life and the Hereafter1965 · Starday SLP 219
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There’s Nothing on Earth That Heaven Can’t Cure1965 · Starday SLP 348
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Get Religion1962 · Starday SLP 152
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Everybody Will Be Happy1961 · Starday SLP 137
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Banjo in the Hills1959 · Starday SLP 104
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Single (Follow Him / Gone Home)1955 · Mercury 70547X45
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Single (Where the Soul Never Dies / Angels Rock Me to Sleep)1954 · Mercury 70407X45
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Single (Love and Wealth / Lonesome Hearted Blues)1953 · Columbia 21137
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Mighty Close to Heaven1951 · Starday SLP 219
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Carl StoryPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Claude BoonePlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Bud BrewsterPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Willie BrewsterPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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William “Red” RectorPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Ray AtkinsPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Tommy JacksonPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Carl ThackerPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Clyde JohnsonPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Hack JohnsonPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Jeff DaltonPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Larry BeasleyPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Mike McKellarPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Mitchell MoserPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Benny SimsPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Bonnie Lee MoorePlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Bruce JonesPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Buster MoorePlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Chuck HendersonPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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David GalyonPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Ernie NewtonPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Frankie BelcherPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Gordon ReedPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Harold AustinPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Jack LinnemanPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Jerry RiversPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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John Lee JonesPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Mitchell MotePlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
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Randall CollinsPlayed on recording with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers
