James Alan Shelton (November 3, 1960 – June 3, 2014) was an American bluegrass guitarist. Shelton was a solo musician, released 10 albums, and performed with the

Clinch Mountain Boys 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 ...

Life

James was born in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

and raised in

Gate City, Virginia Gate City is a town in Scott County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Scott County. Gate City is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistica ...

. A major influence musically on James as a child were 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 perfo ...

, who were from nearby

Dickenson County, Virginia Dickenson County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,124. Its county seat is Clintwood. History Dickenson County, formed in 1880 from parts of Buchanan County, Russell County ...

. When he was 12 years old he saw

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 ...

perform and was inspired to learn the guitar and

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 ...

. His father bought him his first guitar which cost $89.95. James worked for his father, at $1.25 an hour, to repay him for the instrument. He also found influence in the

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scru ...

, and

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 ...

. It was in the records of the Stanley Brothers where James heard the guitar playing of

George Shuffler George Shuffler (April 11, 1925 – April 7, 2014) was an American bluegrass music, bluegrass guitar player and an early practitioner of the crosspicking style. During his career Shuffler played with The Bailey Brothers and the Happy Valley Boys, ...

, who had developed a style of

crosspicking Crosspicking is a technique for playing the mandolin or guitar using a plectrum or flatpick in a rolling, syncopated style across three strings. This style is probably best known as one element of the flatpicking style in bluegrass music, and it clo ...

. James would go on to idolize Shuffler, and eventually play with him during his professional career. He, along with his loving wife Greta, lived in

Church Hill, Tennessee Church Hill is a city in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,998 at the 2020 census and 6,737 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

, until his death on June 3, 2014. Greta still resides there.

Professional career

Shelton went on to play with Ralph Stanley and the

. His guitar playing was unique, mixing aspects of George Shuffler's crosspicking style,

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

and a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

finger-style of picking. He later played dobro and guitar with the Flint Hill band.Shelton profile
Allmusic.com; accessed June 5, 2014.

Solo career

Shelton recorded 10 solo albums: * Blue in the Blue Ridge (Freeland FRC-CD 645, 1992) * Clinch Mountain Guitar (Freeland FRC-CD 650, 1995) * Road to Coeburn (Copper Creek CCCD 0154, 1997) * Standing Room Only - 1999 * Song for Greta (Rebel REB-CD 1785, 2002) * Guitar Tracks - 2003 * Half Moon Bay (Rebel REB-CD 1809, 2004) * Walking Down the Line (Sheltone SR 1961, 2007) * Gospel Guitar (Sheltone SR 1960, 2008) * Copper Creek Sessions (Sheltone, 2012)

References

External links

Official websiteJames Alan Shelton from
MTV.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, James Alan 1960 births 2014 deaths American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Virginia People from Kingsport, Tennessee Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists People from Church Hill, Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians