Ralph Stanley Music

Origin: Stratton, VA

Decades: 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's

Born in Stratton, VA, in 1927, Ralph Stanley and his older brother Carter formed the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys. In 1946 Ralph and Carter were being broadcast from radio station WCYB in Bristol, VA. The music, which was inspired by their Virginia mountain home, was encouraged by their mother, who taught Ralph the claw-hammer style of banjo picking that he and Carter became famous for. They recorded for such companies as the small Rich-R-Tone label and later Columbia, a relationship that l... Read More