Musician Spotlight: The Stanley Brothers

If you are a fan of bluegrass music, The Stanley Brothers are definitely worth a listen if you have not listened to their music before. This is an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriter brothers. The brothers’ Carter Stanley and Ralph Stanley made music together for many years. Carter was an active member of the band until he passed away in 1967. Ralph joined the band and continued to make music in the band’s name as a solo artist once Carter died. He then made music until he passed away himself in 2016. From 1946 to 1966, the brothers made music with The Clinch Mountain Boys, which was their band.

The Stanley Brothers have an exceptional reputation in the world of music and their legacy lives on. In 1992, they were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. Man of Constant Sorrow: The Story of the Stanley Brothers was premiered in 2005 at The Barter State Theatre of Virginia. This was written by Dr. Douglas Pote. there has also been a biography on the brothers as well, which is well worth a read if you want to learn more about their life and their impact in music.

The band first started to record music in 1947. They recorded ten songs in Johnston City, Tennessee for Rich-R-Tone records. After this, they then moved onto a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1948. This resulted in them recording 22 songs with Columbia for the years between 1949 and 1952. They then moved onto the next stage of their recording career, as they signed a deal with Mercury Records. They were they for five years from 1953. The latter part of their career involved recording for Starday/King Records. They produced 15 years in the seven years that followed this.

Here is a video of the Stanley Brothers performing “Rank Stranger”:

The brothers rose to fame for their incredible style. They performed conventional religious songs in Appalachian bluegrass style, which was marked by high-pitched and tight harmonies that Bill Monroe strongly influenced. They had a number of different hit recordings with their band, the Clinch Mountain Boys. The band was reorganized after the death of Carter. Ralph went on to record 185 albums, and the major resurgence in his career happened when he won a Grammy Award in 2002 for best male country vocal performance. He won this for an Acappella performance of the rendering song O Death from O, Brother Where Art Thou?, which was his 2000 soundtrack album.

All in all, there is no denying the influence that The Stanley Brothers have had on the world of music, and it was only right that they were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1992. If you want to go on a musical journey, we would certainly recommend that you listen to some of their tracks and music. Start from the early days and work your way through the music until you reach the latter years of the band when Ralph had to make it without his brother. It is an emotional and beautiful musical journey. It is about more than the music. You can really sense the journey that the two brothers went on together, and that is what makes it extra special and it is something a lot of people can relate to when listening. While their music was produced well before audio interfaces were created, it is still well worth listening too.