The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers

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. Biog ...

(August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and

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 ...

(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 Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, 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 Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

interrupted their musical career, but once both brothers returned from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, they resumed their musical pursuits. They formed their band, the Stanley Brothers and 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 ...

, in the month of November 1946 as the first band to copy the Monroe sound.Malone, McCulloh 1975, p. 426. Carter played guitar and sang lead, while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

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.Rosenberg 2005, p. 80. On December 26, 1946, the band began performing at radio station WCYB in

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. T ...

as stalwarts of the famed ''Farm and Fun Time'' radio show.Wright 1995, p. 3. They made their recording debut in September 1947 for Rich-R-Tone Records which had been founded the year before. Their records sold well, "outselling even

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

" regionally.Rosenberg 2005, p. 82. Up to now, Ralph had been playing his banjo with two fingers on recordings and in concerts, but in 1948, he switched to the three-finger style (popularised by Earl Scruggs).Rosenberg 2005, p. 84. In March 1949, the Stanley Brothers began recording for Columbia Records.Rosenberg 2005, p. 87. During this time,

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 ...

was not particularly fond of groups like the Stanley Brothers and

Flatt & 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 Sc ...

who he believed "stole" his music by copying it; they were seen as "economic threats."Rosenberg 2005, p. 88.Rosenberg 2005, p. 85. Financially hard times in the early 1950s forced the brothers to take a short break in their musical career. They began working for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. 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.Wright 1995, p. 4. Following his recovery, Carter and 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 Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and headlined the weekly ''Suwannee River Jamboree'' radio show on WNER from 1958 to 1962. The three-hour show was also syndicated across the Southeast. In 1966, the brothers toured

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and upon returning home they continued to perform together until Carter's death in December 1966.Wright 1995, p. 5. Many years later, Ralph revived the Clinch Mountain Boys. He performed with them through 2013. He recorded one last album in 2014, ''Side By Side'', with his son, Ralph II. Among the musicians who have played in the revived Clinch Mountain Boys were

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ...

, Keith Whitley,

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 Re ...

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 learne ...

, 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 very successful soundtrack recording of the 2000 feature film, ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 comedy drama film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and ...

'', which featured the song "

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 ...

" among others.

Legacy

The Stanley Brothers were inducted 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 ...

in 1992. In 2005, The Barter State Theatre of Virginia premiered an original stage production, ''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.

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 Can Love'' *''How Far to Little Rock?'' (novelty) *''Still Trying to Get to Little Rock (novelty)'' *''Ridin' That Midnite Train'' *''Clinch Mountain Backstep'' *''She's More to Be Pitied'' *''The Memory of Your Smile'' *''Love Me Darlin' Just Tonight''

Clinch Mountain Boys members

( lead vocalist,

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 strin ...

) *

( banjo) * George Shuffler (

, bass) *Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert ( mandolin) *Jim Williams ( mandolin) *Curly Lambert ( mandolin,

) * James Price ( fiddle) *Robert "Bobby" Sumner ( fiddle) *Lester Woodie ( fiddle) (died 2018) *Ralph Mayo ( fiddle,

) *Chubby Anthony ( fiddle) *Art Stamper ( fiddle) *Joe Meadows ( fiddle) *Paul Moon Mullins ( fiddle) *Red Stanley ( fiddle) *Don Miller ( fiddle) *Vernon Derrick ( fiddle,

) *

( fiddle) *James "Jay" Hughes ( bass) *Ernie Newton ( bass) * James "Chick" Stripling ( bass) *

Mike Seeger Mike Seeger (August 15, 1933August 7, 2009) was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, a ...

( bass) * Charlie Cline (

) *Bill Napier (

, mandolin) *Albert Elliott Mandolin, Upright Bass, and Baritone etter known as ouser Murphystage name. *

(

) *James Alan Shelton (guitar) *Jack Cooke ( bass) *John Shuffler ( bass) * Melvin Goins ( bass,

) *Johnny Bonds ( bass) *Bill Slaughter ( bass)

Discography

78 RPM

Albums (US)

Video

Charted singles

Footnotes

References

* Johnson, David W. (2013) ''Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers'', University Press of Mississippi * Malone, Bill C. (1975) Judith McCulloh, ''Stars of Country Music'', University of Illinois Press * Rosenberg, Neil V. (2005) ''Bluegrass: A History'', University of Illinois Press * Wright, John (1995) ''Traveling the High Way Home'', University of Illinois Press * Reid, Gary B. (2015) "The Music of the Stanley Brothers'', University of Illinois Press

External links

Stanley Brothers' biographyRecording of "We Are Going to Paint the Town" from a 1958 Florida radio show
(made available for public use by the

State Archives of Florida The State Library and Archives of Florida is the central repository for the archives of state government for the state of Florida. It is located at the R.A. Gray Building on 500 South Bronough Street in Tallahassee, Florida, Florida's capital. ...

)
Podcast (mp3) of one of the Stanley Brothers' ''Suwannee River Jamboree'' radio show
from 1958 (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center
official website of the Ralph Stanley Museum
''Man of Constant Sorrow''
at

Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...

Production photos from ''Man of Constant Sorrow''
at buddywoodward.net

at hankwilliamslistings.com * *
Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers (2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley Brothers American bluegrass music groups King Records artists Starday Records artists Virginia culture Mercury Records artists Columbia Records artists Country musicians from Virginia Musical groups from Appalachia People from Dickenson County, Virginia Musical groups from Virginia