Dr. Ralph celebrates birthday

Man of Constant Sorrow (2015)

Dr. Ralph Stanley can't sit still; he tried to retire in 2013 and even went out on a farewell tour, but the three-time Grammy winner just wasn't ready to say farewell, yet. Making music for well over half a century, Stanley has been re-shaping music his entire career, riding firmly in the path of bluegrass tradition while helping shape that tradition with his iconic high lonesome sound. After his brother Carter's death in 1964, he refashioned the Clinch Mountain Boys, focusing on ...

A Mother's Prayer

On encountering a new album from an artist whose catalog already runs into triple digits over a career now in its seventh decade, it's easy to wonder how much more he's really got to say. But for Ralph Stanley, now 84 and more than 10 years removed from the renown he gained in the course of the O Brother phenomenon, there's still a deep well of music to be drawn from the lives and faith of his Appalachian forebears. "A Mother's Prayer" is far from his first ...

Old-Time Pickin' A Clawhammer Banjo Collection

After more than 50 years of pickin' and singing, Dr. Ralph Stanley's legend continues to grow. Stanley is widely renowned for his clawhammer banjo picking, which he picked up as a child in the hills of Virginia. With brother Carter doing most of the singing, they formed a powerful presence in traditional music. It was not until the death of Carter, that Ralph's own vocal prowess began to emerge. Stanley's tenor vocals truly shine in harmony here with Charlie Sizemore in ...