Larry Sparks
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Larry Sparks
Larry Sparks (born September 25, 1947) is an American Bluegrass singer and guitarist. He was the winner of the 2004 and 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Award. 2005, won IBMA for Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year for his album "40," celebrating his 40th year(2003) in bluegrass music. Biography Sparks was born and raised in Lebanon, Ohio. His family originated from Jackson County, Kentucky in the Appalachians. In his childhood, he used to listen to the Grand Ole Opry and to radio station WCKY. He learned to play the guitar when he was quite young influenced by artists such as Wayne Raney, Stanley Brothers, Tommy Sutton and Paul "Moon" Mullins. Although he had played in country music and rock bands while he was in high school, his bluegrass career began when he joined the Stanley Brothers in 1964. At that time he was playing in a local band in Middletown, Ohio: "Irvin MackIntosh and His Band" and a friend of his, banjo play ...
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Bluegrass Music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ... that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like Country music, mainstream country music, it largely developed out of Old-time music, old-time string music, though in contrast, bluegrass is traditionally played exclusively on Acoustic music, acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish, and Irish Ballads, Irish ballads and dance tunes as well as in blues and jazz. Bluegrass was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genr ...
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Stanley Brothers
The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph and Carter performed as The Stanley Brothers with their band, The Clinch Mountain Boys, from 1946 to 1966. Ralph kept the band name when he continued as a solo artist after Carter's death, from 1967 until his own death in 2016. Early lives Carter and Ralph Stanley were born on a small farm in Dickenson County, Virginia, near McClure. Music was a part of their lives even in their early years, and they listened to the likes of the Monroe Brothers, J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers and the Grand Ole Opry on local radio. Careers The brothers formed a band, the Lazy Ramblers, and performed as a duo on WJHL radio in Johnson City, Tennessee. World War II interrupted their musical career, but once both brothers returned from the United States Army, they res ...
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American Country Singer-songwriters
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
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I Just Want To Thank You Lord
"I Just Want to Thank You Lord" is a notable American gospel and bluegrass song written by Judy Marshall (born 1951) of the Marshall Family of West Virginia. It was released in 1975 on the Marshall Family's "Come Springtime" album one year after the group came to the public eye after performing with Ralph Stanley at a large bluegrass festival. The song was the title song on Larry Sparks's album "I Just Want to Thank You Lord," which was nominated for Bluegrass Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard. Nomi ... in 2010. The song is featured in the book, ''Southern Sounds From The North.''Richard Doran, ''Southern Sounds From The North,'' (2008), Chapter 7: Cambridge Tour, accessed via https://books.google.com References {{reflist Gosp ...
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Gusto Records
Gusto Records is a Nashville, Tennessee-based record company that specializes in reissuing and licensing recordings. The catalogues that Gusto owns include King Records (except for recordings by James Brown), Starday, Scepter (except for recordings by Dionne Warwick, and the pre-RCA recordings of The Guess Who), Wand (except for recordings by The Kingsmen) Musicor, Chart (except for recordings by Lynn Anderson, whose catalog is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, and a few other artists who bought their own masters), Federal, Audio Lab, Ovation, Step One, Atteiram, and others. Gusto is believed to maintain one of the largest independently owned collection of record masters. History Gusto was founded in 1973 by Gayron "Moe" Lytle and songwriter Tommy Hill, who owned the Stop Records label. Tommy Hill operated the business while Moe was still in St. Louis. In 1974, Moe Lytle moved to Nashville and bought Tommy Hill's interest in the company, along with the Stop Records label sh ...
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Top Bluegrass Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, provides additional weekly charts, as well as year-end charts. The two most important charts are the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for songs and ''Billboard'' 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts. For the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales. The weekly sales and streams charts are monitored on a Friday-to-Thursday cycle since July 2015; previously it was on a Monday-to-Sunday cycle. Radio airplay song charts, however, follow t ...
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Dave Evans (bluegrass)
William "Dave" Evans (July 24, 1950 - June 26, 2017) was a tenor singer, banjo player, composer, and bluegrass band leader. He was noted for his powerful tenor vocal range and for his style which bridged traditional and contemporary bluegrass. Notable songs written by Evans include "One Loaf of Bread," "Highway 52," "99 Years is Almost for Life," and "Be Proud of the Grey in Your Hair." Biography Early years Evans grew up in Columbus, Ohio. At age eight, Evans was introduced to the banjo by his father who played old time banjo, but Evans preferred the Earl Scruggs style of playing. In his teens, he began singing and writing songs. Evans' first professional band was in 1968, with Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys. Following the death of Evans' mother, he returned to Ohio for several years. Larry Sparks In 1972, Evans joined Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers. He spent three years with Sparks, then worked with other acts such as the Goins Brothers, Red Allen and the Ke ...
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Starday Records
Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record distributor Harold W. Daily (better known as "Pappy") decided to form a record label. The Starday name is a combination of Starnes' and Daily's last names. After four releases, former Four Star vice president Don Pierce was brought into the fold and the three men founded the Starday Recording and Publishing Company. Soon after, Starnes sold his shares out to Pierce. In the mid-1950s, Art Talmadge of Mercury Records made Starday a unique proposition, whereby Mercury contracted out all production of Country and Bluegrass music to Starday Records. This move proved not to be the success Mercury had hoped it would be, and this resulted in an acrimonious split between Daily and Pierce. Daily joined Mercury records as an A&R man/Talent Scout, whi ...
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Clintwood, Virginia
Clintwood is a town in Dickenson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,414 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 1,304 in 2018. It is the county seat of Dickenson County. Although originally called "Holly Creek" after a small stream that runs through the town, it was later named "Clintwood" after Major Henry Clinton Wood, a Confederate officer in the 37th Virginia Infantry Regiment. History Clintwood, Virginia was founded in 1829 by John "Holly Creek John" Mullins. In June 1948, the town of Clintwood elected an all-female town council for the period from 1948 to 1950. The " Petticoat Government", as it was nicknamed, implemented change in many areas, including cleanup of the town, eliminating parking problems, organizing a systematic garbage disposal system, eliminating several traffic hazards, organizing the town's fire department, and purchasing a fire truck. The "Petticoat Government" received the attention of Lady Astor, a member of the Britis ...
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Curly Ray Cline
Curly Ray Cline (January 10, 1923 – August 19, 1997) was an American bluegrass fiddler from West Virginia known for his work with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and Ralph Stanley. Biography Cline was born in Mingo County, West Virginia. He learned the basics from his father, but other than that he was self-taught. While he was growing up playing the fiddle, he was inspired by Fiddlin' Arthur Smith of the Grand Ole Opry. Curly and his brothers were all musically talented, but Curly Ray and brother Charlie Cline were especially gifted. When Curly Ray was 15 years old, he, along with his cousin Ezra and brother Ned formed the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers around 1938. The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers started off playing on radio station WHIS in the nearby town of Bluefield, where they remained until 1952. Although during this time Curly and brother Charlie Cline were also playing in Jimmy Martin's band, the Sunny Mountain Boys. Occasionally, Curly Ray did studio work for many musicians such as ...
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Carter Stanley
Carter Glen Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) was a bluegrass music lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitar player. He formed The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys band with his younger brother Ralph Stanley. Biography Stanley was born in Big Spraddle Creek in Dickenson County, Virginia. The son of Lucy and Lee Stanley, Carter grew up in rural southwestern Virginia. In 1946, he and his brother Ralph formed the Stanley Brothers, ultimately becoming one of the most respected and influential pioneering groups of a new genre that later came to be known as "bluegrass". Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the great natural singers in the history of country music. Carter also composed more than 100 songs, and many of them remain standards in the bluegrass genre. He had a particular knack for deceptively simple ly ...
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