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Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers

Band · Active 1970–2008 · Lebanon, Ohio · larrysparksmusic.com
Classic Bluegrass Contemporary Bluegrass

Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers have been one of the most distinctive acts in bluegrass for over five decades — anchored by Sparks's bluesy, heavy flatpicking guitar and his deep, soulful lead vocals. Alison Krauss once called him "bluegrass music's Ray Charles," and his melding of traditional bluegrass, gospel, and blues has shaped the flatpicking style of generations of guitarists who followed.

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  • Larry Eugene Sparks, born September 25, 1947, in Lebanon, Ohio, to a family from Jackson County in Appalachian Kentucky.
  • Began his career in 1964 at age 16, sitting in as lead guitarist with the Stanley Brothers during their Ohio tours.
  • Became lead vocalist with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys after Carter Stanley's death in December 1966 — filling one of the most difficult shoes in bluegrass as a teenager.
  • Left the Clinch Mountain Boys in late 1969 to form the Lonesome Ramblers, initially with sister Bernice Sparks (who had given him his first guitar lessons), David Cox, Joe Isaacs, and Lloyd Hensley.
  • Recorded for Pine Tree, Old Homestead, Starday, and — from 1977 onward — Rebel Records, releasing more than 60 albums over the course of his career.
  • Made "John Deere Tractor" (a Lawrence Hammond composition) into a bluegrass standard; also popularized "Great High Mountain," "Blue Virginia Blues," "A Face in the Crowd," "Tennessee 1949," and many gospel pieces.
  • Developed a signature guitar sound — a heavy, downstroke attack on a Martin D-28 that brought blues phrasing into bluegrass — that directly influenced guitarists including Chris Jones and many others.
  • Numerous younger players passed through the Lonesome Ramblers over the decades, including Ricky Skaggs and Stuart Duncan early in their careers, plus Dave Evans, Wendy Miller, Mike Lilly, and Kirk Brandenberger.
  • Won the IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Award in both 2004 and 2005; his album 40 (celebrating his 40 years in bluegrass) won IBMA Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year.
  • Inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2015; continues to tour and record, with his son Larry D. Sparks in the band on bass.
  • Larry Sparks
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Art Wydner
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Wendy Miller
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Mike Lilly
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Tommy Boyd
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Barry Crabtree
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Dave Evans
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Joe Meadows
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • David Harvey
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Kirk Brandenberger
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Art Stamper
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Mike Carter
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Tim Sargent
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Larry D. Sparks
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Gene Elders
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • John Masters
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Andrew Brown
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Glen Duncan
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Michael Jenkins
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Mike Miller
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Tony Furtado
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Carl Breggren
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Curt Chapman
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • David Bowling
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Glen Inman
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Jackie Kincaid
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Jeff Brown
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Randy Jones
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Robert Hale
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Roger Bellow
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Ron Stewart
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Scott Vestal
    Played on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Barney Carter
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Bob Goff
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Carl Berggren
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • David Johnson
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Dee Sparks
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Del McCoury
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • J.D. Crowe
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Jim Heffernan
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • John Bowman
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Johnny Dacus
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Neal Brackett
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Ralph Meadows
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Randy Kohrs
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Robert Russell “Chubby” Wise
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Scott Napier
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Shawn Lane
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Terry Barnes
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Tim Maynard
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Tim Surrett
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Tyler Mullins
    Played on recording with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
  • Ricky Skaggs
    Played on 0 recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers

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