Carter Glen Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) was a

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 ...

lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitar player. He formed The

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 perform ...

and The Clinch Mountain Boys band with his younger brother

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

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 The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and sang lead while Ralph played

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

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 Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. 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 lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. His famous compositions include "White Dove" and "The Fields Have Turned Brown." His arrangement of "

Man of Constant Sorrow "Man of Constant Sorrow" (also known as "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow") is a traditional American folk song first published by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally titled "Farewell Song" in a songbook b ...

" was popularized in the 2000 film ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (some of his songs were published under the pseudonym "Ruby Rakes"). The brothers broke up in 1951, and Carter Stanley briefly played guitar with

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

and the Bluegrass Boys. In 1953, he and Ralph reunited. After that time, the Stanley Brothers stayed together as a brother act until October 21, 1966 when Carter began hemorrhaging during a performance at a school auditorium in Hazel Green, Kentucky, and had to leave the stage. He died six weeks later on December 1, 1966. A heavy drinker, Carter died from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

at age 41. He was buried in accordance with his request on Smith Ridge, near Coeburn, Virginia. In 1992 Carter Stanley was inducted posthumously into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

Publication

In 2013, a biography was released ''Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers'' by David W. Johnson.

References

External links

* Carter Stanley at Allmusic.com
Jeanie Stanley website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Carter 1925 births 1966 deaths Alcohol-related deaths in Tennessee American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Bluegrass musicians from Virginia American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists People from Dickenson County, Virginia Singer-songwriters from Virginia 20th-century American singers Grammy Award winners 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Virginia 20th-century American male singers Appalachian music