The Stanley Brothers

The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo made up of brothers Carter and Ralph Stanley.
==Biography==
Carter and Ralph Stanley were born on a small farm near McClure, Virginia in Dickenson County. Music was a part of their lives from early on, as they were able to listen to the likes of the Monroe Brothers, J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers and the Grand Ole Opry on local radio. The brothers soon formed a band, the Lazy Ramblers, and performed as a duo on WJHL radio in Johnson City, Tennessee.[1] World War IIinterrupted any thoughts of a musicalCAREER, and it was not until both brothers returned from the service that they were able to make their own mark in music.
They formed their band, the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, in 1946 as the first band to copy theMonroe sound.[2] CarterPLAYED guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Additional members of this early band were Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert on mandolin and Bobby Sumner on fiddle. Sumner was soon to be replaced by Leslie Keith.[3] On December 26, 1946, the band began performing at radio stationWCYB in Bristol, Tennessee as stalwarts of the famed Farm and Fun Time radio show.[4] They made their recording debut inSEPTEMBER 1947 for Rich-R-Tone Records which had been founded the year before. Their records sold well "outselling even Eddy Arnold"REGIONALLY.[5] Up to now, Ralph had been playing the banjo with two fingers only on recordings and in concerts but switched in 1948 to the three-finger style popularised by Earl Scruggs.[6] In March 1949, the Stanley Brothers began recording for Columbia Records.[7]
During this time, Bill Monroe was not particularlyFOND of groups like the Stanley Brothers and Flatt & Scruggswhom he believed "stole" his music by copying it and they were therefore seen as "economic threats."[8][9] Financially hard times in the early 1950s forced the brothers to take aSHORT BREAK in their musicalCAREER and they began working for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Eventually, Monroe and the Stanley Brothers became friends and Carter performed for several months with Bill Monroe in the summer of 1951. In August 1951, Ralph was involved in a serious automobile accident that almost ended his career.[10] Following his recovery, Carter & Ralph reunited to front their Clinch Mountain Boys.
As bluegrass music grew less popular in the late 1950s, the Stanley Brothers moved to Live Oak, Florida to headline the weekly Suwannee River Jamboree radio show on WNER from 1958 to 1962. The three-hour show was also syndicated across the Southeast.[11] In 1966, the brothers toured Europe and upon returning home theyCONTINUED to perform together until Carter's death in December 1966.[12]
The brothers wrote many of their own songs and Carter had a particular knack for writing deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. The Stanley's style can best be described as a traditional "mountain soul" sound that remained close to the Primitive Baptist vocal stylings they learned from their parents and others near their southwestern Virginia home. Ralph has often used the expression "...old-time, mountain style, what they call 'bluegrass' music", to differentiate the Stanleys' sound from mainstream bluegrass. They later added an innovative touch to their traditional sound with the guitar solos of George Shuffler, an early proponent of the crosspicking guitar style.
Later, Ralph revived the Clinch Mountain Boys and is still performing as of 2010. Among the musicians who havePLAYED in the revived Clinch Mountain Boys are Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, Curly Ray Cline, Jack Cooke, Roy Lee Centers, Charlie Sizemore, Ray Goins, and Ralph Stanley II. Ralph's career received a big boost with his prominent role on the phenomenally successful soundtrack recording of the 2000FILM, O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The Stanley Brothers were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1992. In 2005, The Barter State Theatre of Virginia premiered an original stage production entitled, "Man of Constant Sorrow: The Story of the Stanley Brothers," written by Dr. Douglas Pote. The University Press of Mississippi published the first full-length biography of the Stanley Brothers, Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers by David W. Johnson, on February 1, 2013. The paperback edition was published March 1, 2014.
Ad Options ==Selected recordings==
Among the Stanley Brothers' best known recordings are:
*I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow (Columbia 20816, Rec: Nov. 3, 1950, Released: May, 1951)
*Rank Stranger
*Angel Band (1955)
*How Mountain Girls CanLOVE
*How Far to Little Rock? (novelty)
*Still trying to get to Little Rock (novelty)
*Ridin' That MidniteTRAIN
*Clinch Mountain Backstep
*She's More To Be Pitied
*The Memory ofYOUR Smile
* LoveMeDarlin' Just Tonight
==Clinch Mountain Boys Members==
1946 to 1966:
*Carter Stanley (Lead vocalist, guitar)
*Ralph Stanley (banjo)
*George Shuffler (guitar, bass)
*Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert (mandolin)
*Jim Williams (mandolin)
*Curly Lambert (mandolin, guitar)
*Leslie Keith (fiddle)
*Robert "Bobby" Sumner (fiddle)
*Lester Woodie (fiddle)
*Ralph Mayo (fiddle, guitar)
*Chubby Anthony (fiddle)
*Art Stamper (fiddle)
*Joe Meadows (fiddle)
*Paul Moon Mullins (fiddle)
*Red Stanley (fiddle)
*Don Miller (fiddle)
*VERNONDerrick (fiddle, guitar)
*Curly Ray Cline (fiddle)
*James "Jay" Hughes (bass)
*Ernie Newton (bass)
*James "Chick" Stripling (bass)
*Mike Seeger (bass)
*Charlie Cline (guitar)
*Bill Napier (guitar, mandolin)
*Albert Elliott [ Mandolin, Upright Bass, and Baritone ]better known as [Touser Murphy] stage name.
*Larry Sparks (guitar)
*Jack Cooke (bass)
*John Shuffler (bass)
*Melvin Goins (bass, guitar)
==Discography==
===78 RPM===
Year	Title 	Label 	NUMBER
1947	"Mother No Longer Awaits Me atHOME" / "The Girl Behind the Bar" 	Rich-R-Tone	420
1948	"Little Maggie" / "The Little Glass of Wine" 	Rich-R-Tone	423
1948	"The Rambler's Blues" / "Molly and Tenbrooks" 	Rich-R-Tone	418
1949	"The Jealous Lover" / "Our Darling's Gone" 	Rich-R-Tone	435
1949	"The WhiteDOVE" / "Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet" 	Columbia 	20577
1949	"Little Glass of Wine" / "Let Me BeYOUR Friend" 	Columbia 	20590
1949	"The Angels Are Singing (In Heaven Tonight)" / "It's Never Too Late" 	Columbia 	20617
1949	"A Vision of Mother" / "Have You Someone (In Heaven Awaiting)" 	Columbia 	20647
1950	"The Old Home" / "The Fields Have Turned Brown" 	Columbia 	20667
1950	"Death is Only a Dream" / "I Can Tell You the Time" 	Rich-R-Tone	466
1950	"I Love No One But You" / "Too Late to Cry" 	Columbia 	20697
1950	"We'll Be Sweethearts in Heaven" / "The Drunkard's Hell" 	Columbia 	20735
1950	"Hey! Hey! Hey!" / "Pretty Polly" 	Columbia 	20770
1951	"The Lonesome River" / "I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow" 	Columbia 	20816
1952	"Sweetest Love" / "The Wandering Boy" 	Columbia 	20953
1952	"Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake" / "Are You Waiting Just for Me?"	Rich-R-Tone	1055
1952	"Little Glass of Wine" / "Little Birdie" 	Rich-R-Tone	1056
1953	"This WearyHEART You Stole Away" / "I'm Lonesome Without You" 	Mercury 	70217
1953	"Say Won't You Be Mine" / "Our Last Goodbye" 	Mercury 	70270
1954	"I Long To See The Old Folks" / "A Voice From On High" 	Mercury 	70340
1954	"Memories Of Mother" / "Could You Love Me One More Time" 	Mercury 	70400
1954	"Poison Lies" / "Dickson County Breakdown" 	Mercury 	70437-X45
1954	"Blue Moon of Kentucky" / "I Just Got Wise" 	Mercury 	70453-X45
1954	"Calling From Heaven" / "Harbor Of Love" 	Mercury 	70483-X45
1955	"Hard Times" / "I Worship You" 	Mercury 	70546-X45
1955	"So Blue" / "You'd Better Get Right" 	Mercury 	70612-X45
1955	"Lonesome And Blue" / "Orange Blossom Special" 	Mercury 	70663-X45
1955	"I Hear My Savior Calling" / "Just A Little Talk With Jesus" 	Mercury 	70718-X45
1956	"Nobody's Love Is Like Mine"/ "Big Tilda" 	Mercury 	70789-X45
1956	"Baby Girl" / "Say You'll Take Me Back" 	Mercury 	70886-X45
1957	"I'm Lost, I'll Never Find The Way" / "The Flood" 	Mercury 	71064-X45
1957	"Fling Ding" / "Loving You Too Well" 	Mercury 	71207-X45
1958	"She's More To Be Pitied" / TRAIN 45" 	King 	5155
1958	"Midnight Ramble" / "Love Me Darling Just Tonight" 	King 	5165
1959	"Keep a Memory" / "Mastertone March" 	King 	5180
1959	"How Can We Thank Him" / "ThatHOME Far Away" 	King 	5197
1959	"The Memory ofYOUR Smile" / "Suwanee River Hoedown" 	King 	5210
1959	"The WhiteDOVE" / "Mother's Footsteps Guide Me On" 	King 	5233
[13][14][15]
===Albums (US)===
Year	Title 	Label 	NUMBER 	Notes
1958	Country Pickin' and Singin' 	Mercury 	MG-20349	
1959	Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys 	King 	615 	
1959	Hymns and Sacred Songs 	King 	645 	
1959	Mountain Song Favorites Featuring 5 String Banjo 	Starday 	SLP 106 	reissued 1964 as Nashville NLP-2014
1960	Sacred Songs From the Hills 	Starday 	SLP-122 	
1960	The Stanley Brothers Sing Everybody's Country Favorites 	King 	690 	
1960	For the Good People - Sacred Songs 	King 	698 	
1961	The Stanley's InPERSON 	King 	719 	Stereo
1961	Stanley Brothers Live At Antioch College - 1960 	Vintage 	ZK 002 	limited edition of 500
1961	Sing The Songs They Like Best 	King 	772 	
1961	The Stanley Brothers 	Harmony 	HL-7291 	recorded in 1949
1961	Old Country Church 	Gusto 	0084 	
1962	AwardWINNERS at the Folk Song Festival 	King 	791 	live
1962	Good Old Camp Meeting Songs 	King 	805 	
1962	The Mountain Music Sound of the Stanley Brothers 	Starday 	SLP-201 	
1962	Old Time Camp Meeting 	King 	750 	
1963	Folk Concert from the Heart of America 	King 	834 	reissued as Hollywood HT-248, Just Because
1963	The Country Folk Music Spotlight 	King 	864 	
1963	The World's Finest Five String Banjo 	King 	872 	ALTERNATEtitle: Banjo in the Hills
1963	Hard Times 	Mercury 	MG 20884	SR 60884 stereo
1964	Hymns of the Cross 	King 	918 	with George Shuffler
1965	The Remarkable Stanley BrothersPLAY and Sing Bluegrass Songs for You	King 	924 	
1965	Songs of Mother andHOME 	Wango 	LP 106 	reissued 1973 as County 738
1966	The Stanley Brothers: Their Original Recordings 	Melodeon 	MLP 7322	1947 Rich-R-Tone sessions, recorded in Bristol, Tennessee
1966	ACOLLECTION of Original Gospel & Sacred Songs 	King 	963 	original title: The Greatest Country and Western Show On Earth
1966	Jacob's Vision 	Starday 	SLP-384 	
1966	The Stanley Brothers Goes to Europe 	Rimrock 	RLP 200 	
1966	The Angels Are Singing 	Harmony 	HL 7377 	HS 11177 stereo
1966	Carter & Ralph 	Nashville 	NLP-2037	
1966	John's Gospel Quartet 	Wango 	LP 103 	reissued 1977 as County 753
1966	John's Country Quartet 	Wango 	LP 104 	reissued 1973 as County 739
1966	John's Gospel Quartet 	Wango 	LP 105 	reissued 1976 as County 754
1966	Bluegrass Gospel Favorites 	Cabin Creek 	203 	
1967	Stanley Brothers Sing the Best-Loved Sacred Songs of Carter Stanley 	King 	1013 	
1967	An Empty Mansion: In Memory of Carter Stanley 	Rimrock 	RLP 153 	reissued 1978 as Old Homestead 118
1967	A BeautifulLIFE 	Rimrock 	RLP 200 	reissued 1978 as Old Homestead 119
1967	Gospel Singing As Pure As the Mountain Stream 	Rimrock 	RLP 200 	
1969	How Far To Little Rock 	King 	KLP-1046	
1970	Sweeter Than theFLOWERS 	Nashville 	NLP-2078	also NA7-2046-2
1970	The Legendary Stanley Brothers, Recorded Live 	Rebel 	SLP 1487	
1970	The Legendary Stanley Brothers, Recorded Live, Vol 2 	Rebel 	SLP 1495	
1971	Together For the Last Time 	Lisa Joy 	10329 	recorded live in 1956 and 1966, reissued 1972 as Rebel SLP 1512
1972	On Radio - Great 1960 Radio Shows 	Rebel 	1115 	recorded in Live Oak, Florida
1976	Stanley Brothers on the Air 	Wango 	115 	
1980	Columbia Sessions Vol 1 	Rounder 	SS-09 	
1980	Columbia Sessions Vol 2 	Rounder 	SS-10 	
1984	On Radio Vol 1 	County 	780 	
1984	On Radio Vol 2 	County 	781 	
1984	Starday Sessions 	County 	106/107 	
1988	The Stanley Brothers on WCYB BristolFARM & Fun Time 	Rebel 	855 	recorded 1947
1994	Clinch Mountain Bluegrass 	Vanguard 	77018-2 	live, Newport Folk Festival, 1959 and 1964
1997	Earliest Recordings 	Rich-R-Tone 	6004 	recorded 1947-1952
2004	An Evening Long Ago 	Columbia Legacy	CK-86747	recorded in Bristol, VA, March 1956
2004	The Last Show of the Stanley Brothers - Brown County Jamboree 	Stanleytone 	 	recorded in Bean Blossom, IN,OCTOBER16, 1966
[1][16][17][18][19]
===Video===
Year	Title 	Label 	NUMBER	Notes
2005	Rainbow Quest: The Stanley Brothers andDOC Watson	Shanachie	605 	DVD, season 1, episode 18, 1965
==Charted singles==
Year	SINGLE 	US Country
1960	"How Far to Little Rock"	17
Category:Duos