Ricky Skaggs
Classic Bluegrass
Contemporary Bluegrass
Classic Country
Ricky Skaggs's solo recording catalog as an artist falls in two distinct eras: his bluegrass-country breakthrough records of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and his commercial peak as one of country music's biggest stars in the mid-1980s. In 1997 he formed Kentucky Thunder as his dedicated bluegrass touring band (see separate entry), so his solo artist page focuses on work outside that band context.
Assisted by AI.
Spot something off? Help us fix it.
- That's It! (1975) with Keith Whitley on Rebel Records was recorded when both were in Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys; a raw, traditional-duet debut.
- Sweet Temptation (1979) on Sugar Hill Records was his breakthrough — a bluegrass-country hybrid with Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, Bobby Hicks, and others that crossed over and pointed toward his coming country stardom.
- Skaggs & Rice (1980) with Tony Rice: an acoustic duet album of brother-duet material that became a genre classic.
- Signed to Epic Records and delivered a string of #1 country hits across Waitin' for the Sun to Shine (1981), Highways & Heartaches (1982), Don't Cheat in Our Hometown (1983), and Country Boy (1984) — bringing bluegrass-tinged traditional country back to country radio.
- Won CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1985 and was the youngest member inducted into the Grand Ole Opry since Hank Williams.
- Returned explicitly to bluegrass in 1997 with Bluegrass Rules!, the debut of Kentucky Thunder — beginning a new chapter of his recording career under that band name.
- Collaborative albums outside Kentucky Thunder include Cluck Old Hen and Instrumentals with Tony Rice, and several recordings with the Whites (his in-laws' bluegrass-country group).
- Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018 and the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Honor in 2021.
-
Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War2013 · ATO 88429
-
Songs My Dad Loved2009 · Skaggs Family 901009
-
Best of the Sugar Hill Years2008 · Sugar Hill SUG-CD 4045
-
Christmas Grass2002 · Audium AUD-CD 8162
-
35 Years of the Best in Bluegrass1996 · Rebel REB 4000
-
Solid Ground1995
-
Comin’ Home to Stay1988 · Epic FE 40623
-
Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown1983 · Epic FE 38954
-
Family and Friends1982 · Rounder 0151
-
Highways and Heartaches1982 · Skaggs Family A 739710
-
Waitin’ for the Sun to Shine1981 · Epic FE 37193
-
Sweet Temptation1979 · Stony Plain SPL 1060
-
Ricky SkaggsPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Bobby HicksPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Jerry DouglasPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Joe AllenPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Marc PruettPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Peter RowanPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Albert LeePlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Emory Gordy Jr.Played on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Tony RicePlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Joe OsbornPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Sharon WhitePlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Cheryl WarrenPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Emmylou HarrisPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
H.S. “Buck” WhitePlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Hank DeVitoPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Val StoryPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs
-
Bela FleckPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Brian AhernPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Bruce BoutonPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Buddy EmmonsPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Cheryl WhitePlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Cody KilbyPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Darrin VincentPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Dolly PartonPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
John StarlingPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Molly SkaggsPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Ray FlackePlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Sharon HicksPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Steve BryantPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Terry BaucomPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
-
Wes GoldingPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs