Ricky Skaggs

Recording Artist · Active 1971–present · Cordell, Kentucky · rickyskaggs.com · Also a musician
Classic Bluegrass Contemporary Bluegrass Classic Country

Ricky Skaggs is one of the most consequential figures in modern country and bluegrass music — a prodigy who played mandolin with Bill Monroe at age six and went on to become a multi-platinum 1980s country star before deliberately returning to bluegrass at the height of his commercial career. Fourteen Grammy Awards, 12 CMA Awards, a Grand Ole Opry membership, and induction into both the Country Music and Bluegrass Music Halls of Fame mark a career defined by artistic conviction over commercial calculation.

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  • Born in Cordell, Kentucky; raised in Brushy Creek. Father Hobert Skaggs gave him a mandolin at age five. At six, when Bill Monroe's show came through nearby Martha, Kentucky, he was called up on stage and played Monroe's own mandolin. At seven he appeared on Flatt & Scruggs' Martha White TV show, singing “Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man.”
  • As teenagers, Skaggs and Keith Whitley were caught warming up Ralph Stanley's audience in 1970 while Stanley ran late to his own show. Stanley hired both on the spot; Ricky played fiddle and mandolin with the Clinch Mountain Boys 1970–1973.
  • Joined the Country Gentlemen briefly in 1974; moved to J.D. Crowe and the New South in 1974–1975, singing and playing fiddle and mandolin on Rounder 0044 alongside Tony Rice and Jerry Douglas.
  • Co-founded Boone Creek with Jerry Douglas in 1976, producing two progressive bluegrass albums before the band folded when Skaggs joined Emmylou Harris's Hot Band in 1977. Three years touring and recording with Harris exposed him to Nashville's top country session players.
  • Released the solo album Sweet Temptation on Sugar Hill (1979) — an album that leaned toward classic country, with steel guitar and drums alongside the acoustic instruments — and the Tony Rice duet Skaggs & Rice (1980) before signing with Epic Records for his country breakthrough.
  • Country hits 1981–1989: Waitin' for the Sun to Shine (1981), Highways and Heartaches (1982), Don't Cheat in Our Hometown (1983). Eleven #1 country singles including “Crying My Heart Out Over You,” “Heartbroke,” “Honey (Open That Door),” “Country Boy,” and “Uncle Pen.”
  • Named CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1985 and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year 1982. His commercial country sound carried bluegrass instrumentation — mandolin, fiddle, acoustic textures — back to the mainstream country charts.
  • Married singer Sharon White (of the Whites) in 1981; the couple has continued to record and perform together.
  • Formed Kentucky Thunder in 1996 and released Bluegrass Rules! on Rounder (1997), effectively announcing his return to full-time bluegrass at age 43. Kentucky Thunder has remained his primary vehicle since; the band has won eight IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year awards.
  • 14 Grammy Awards (from 29 nominations) spanning country and bluegrass categories, including a run of wins for Kentucky Thunder albums in the 2000s.
  • Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1982, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2018, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018 — the same year.
  • Operates Skaggs Family Records (founded 1997), which has released work by Skaggs, the Whites, Cherryholmes, and others. Produced Bruce Hornsby collaboration album Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby (2007).
  • Authored 2013 memoir Kentucky Traveler: My Life in Music. Continues to tour with Kentucky Thunder and remains an outspoken Christian and advocate for traditional bluegrass.

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