Ralph Stanley
Best known for
Banjo
Lead Vocals
Harmony Vocals
Ralph Stanley was the last surviving patriarch of first-generation bluegrass — a banjo player and singer whose stark, unwavering mountain voice defined “the high lonesome sound” as completely as any musician ever did. For 70 years, first with brother Carter as the Stanley Brothers (1946–1966) and then as “Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys” (1967–2013), he held the line for traditional bluegrass, mentored generations of younger musicians, and late in life found unexpected mainstream fame through the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
- Born in the Clinch Mountains of southwest Virginia. Mother Lucy Smith Stanley played clawhammer banjo and sang the ballads and Primitive Baptist hymns that shaped Ralph's music for life. Father Lee Stanley did not play but sang shape-note hymns.
- Served in the U.S. Army at the tail end of WWII. Formed the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys with older brother Carter (1925–1966) in November 1946. First recording for Rich-R-Tone in September 1947; signed with Columbia in 1948.
- The Stanley Brothers were among the first bands to pick up Bill Monroe's new bluegrass sound, but quickly developed their own repertoire drawing from Carter Family harmonies, Primitive Baptist a cappella singing, and original songs (mostly by Carter). Alan Lomax famously called their music “folk music with overdrive.”
- Ralph's 1951 near-fatal car accident forced a long recovery. Through the 1950s and early 1960s the brothers moved through King, Mercury, and Starday labels; lived in Live Oak, Florida hosting Suwannee River Jamboree radio 1958–62 as bluegrass's commercial popularity waned.
- Carter died of cirrhosis on December 1, 1966, at age 41. Ralph nearly quit music; letters from fans and encouragement from King Records' Syd Nathan convinced him to continue.
- Revived the Clinch Mountain Boys as his own group in 1967. Spent the next five decades mentoring musicians who became stars: Larry Sparks, Roy Lee Centers, Charlie Sizemore, and most famously Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, hired as teenagers in 1970 after Ralph caught them warming up his own audience.
- Won the National Endowment for the Humanities' first-ever Traditional American Music Award (1984); received the National Heritage Fellowship (1984); inducted into IBMA Hall of Honor in 1992; received the National Medal of Arts in 2006.
- Received an honorary Doctor of Music from Lincoln Memorial University in 1976 (hence “Dr. Ralph”) and a second honorary doctorate from Yale in 2014.
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) brought unprecedented mainstream recognition. His a cappella “O Death” won the 2002 Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance — a rare country-vocal award for a traditional banjo player.
- Joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2000 — the first member inducted in the new millennium. Played at Presidential inaugurations for Jimmy Carter (1977) and Bill Clinton (1993).
- Collaborative albums Saturday Night/Sunday Morning (1992) and Clinch Mountain Country (1998) paired him with Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless, Ricky Skaggs, and many others. Lost in the Lonesome Pines won the 2003 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album with Ralph Stanley II.
- Son Ralph Stanley II took over lead vocals for the Clinch Mountain Boys in the late 1990s; grandson Nathan Stanley followed. The Ralph Stanley Museum opened in Clintwood, Virginia in 2004.
- Performed until 2013; final recording Side by Side (2014) with Ralph II. Died at home in Sandy Ridge, Virginia on June 23, 2016, at age 89. Buried on Smith Ridge near his brother and mother.
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The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain BoysPlayed on recordings with The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys
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Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain BoysPlayed on recordings with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys
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Ralph Stanley and FriendsPlayed on recordings with Ralph Stanley and Friends
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Ralph StanleyPlayed on recordings with Ralph Stanley
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Jimmy Martin and Ralph StanleyPlayed on recordings with Jimmy Martin and Ralph Stanley
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Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain BoysPlayed on recordings with Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys
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Keith Whitley and Ricky SkaggsPlayed on recordings with Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs
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Ralph Stanley and Ralph Stanley IIPlayed on recordings with Ralph Stanley and Ralph Stanley II
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Band of RuhksPlayed on recording with Band of Ruhks
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Bill Clifton and the Dixie Mountain BoysPlayed on recording with Bill Clifton and the Dixie Mountain Boys
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Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass BoysPlayed on recording with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys
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Charlie SizemorePlayed on recording with Charlie Sizemore
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Christie LynnPlayed on recording with Christie Lynn
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Curly Ray ClinePlayed on recording with Curly Ray Cline
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Jack CookePlayed on recording with Jack Cooke
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Larry SparksPlayed on recording with Larry Sparks
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Ralph Stanley and Raymond FairchildPlayed on recording with Ralph Stanley and Raymond Fairchild
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Ralph Stanley IIPlayed on recording with Ralph Stanley II
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Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky ThunderPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder