Ralph Stanley wrote and co-wrote dozens of songs across his sixty-year career — first as half of the Stanley Brothers with his brother Carter, then on his own after Carter’s death in 1966. The songs here include “Highway of Regret” and “The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn” from the Stanley Brothers era, plus material Ralph wrote later for the Clinch Mountain Boys. “Green Pastures” became a gospel standard. “Ridin’ That Midnight Train” is the train side. Ralph’s vocal style — the high lonesome, the unaccompanied “Oh Death,” the unflinching tone — shaped what bluegrass singing means.

Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings, and song history.