The Stanley Style and Sound is alive and well.
By Warren McGuffin and Kathleen Rushing
We had the pleasure of seeing Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. Ralph's distinctive voice is always sheer honey to a bluegrass lover. . If you haven't seen the Clinch Mountain Boys in a while, or, if never at all, we highly recommended you catch their show Check out their website at: http://drralphstanley.com
BERKELEY, CALIF. Feb. 4, 2005
The intimacy of The Freight and Salvage gave a perfect venue for Ralph and the Clinch Mountain Boys….up close and personal to a sold out crowd. The Clinch Mountain Boys kicked it off with Mountain Dew at a tempo everybody bit into. Ralph came out of the wings to a warmed up crowd and band. He quickly introduced the band by spotlighting their instruments: James Allen Shelton's clear and solid flat and crosspicking were evident on Sunnyside of the Mountain. Jack Cooke, member of CMB for 40 years provided the band with a seasoned bass line and familiar harmonies with Ralph on Sittin' on Top of the World. John Rigsby burned up the fiddle with breaks on Orange Blossom Special. John has at times played the mandolin but has taken up the fiddle to make room for an up and coming Stanley grandson, 12 year old Nathan Stanley. With a proud introduction by Ralph, his Grammy nominated namesake, Ralph Stanley II performed Carrying On from his new album of the same name. The album pays tribute to his father and his uncle Carter. Steve Sparkman and his Stanleytone banjo rang the walls with the unmistakable Ralph Stanley style. Roots of bluegrass came alive with Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys' distinctive style.
The Clinch Mountain Boys currently live in scattered communities in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. They meet up and head out from Coeburn, Virginia, where their tour bus is parked. Their typical workweek starts on Wednesday or Thursday and wraps up on Sunday, when they normally head in home for a couple days of well-deserved rest before starting out all over again. They average up to 200 gigs a year and have put 100,000 miles on their new Ralph Stanley tour bus.
Before the show and after we had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Stanley and Steve Sparkman:
A Living Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley.
CBA: You have been quite a prolific musician. How many albums?
Ralph: Recorded over 200 albums, and I have two coming out on Columbia; one is a tribute to the Carter Family and we have a Gospel album coming out on Rebel records.
CBA: Is there anyone you still haven't recorded with that you would like to?
Ralph: I have picked just about all of them. I can't think of anyone I have forgotten. Pretty much have recorded with the cream of the crop. I have 3 that were with others "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", "Clinch Mountain Country" and "Clinch Mountain Sweethearts". Sure was a fine time on all of them in the studio.
CBA: Out of all the songs on those 200 albums is there a favorite?
Ralph: "Rank Stranger" has hung around a long time as well as "Pretty Polly" and "Little Maggie". It’s hard to chose. Of the songs I have written I would choose "Hard Times".
CBA: You still Claw hammer some. You pick much anymore?
Ralph: Not much some the OH Brother CD. Steve Sparkman is pretty much our banjo picker now. He is the best I have ever run across..I have known him since he was a little boy. I would see him sitting in the front row and watching and listening to me. He has captured my style dead center. A fine young man.
CBA: You are a living legend. Is there any advice to any up and coming that you can give?
Ralph: It’s hard but I think it is important; be creative and make your own style so people can hear you and know who it is. That’s why the Clinch Mtn Boys have been around so long. My Sound is very distinctive and I can probably say one word & they know who it is. It’s hard but its there if you look for it.
CBA: Tell us your thoughts on Bluegrass
Ralph: I say this all the time: I really don't know what Bluegrass is. When I think of Bluegrass I think of Bill Monroe and you take the Stanley Brothers…..we played this music long before they called it bluegrass.
Bill Monroe had a lot of influence but we also had our own sound. I don’t mean to call us traditional bluegrass or mountain music but I hear a lot of what is called bluegrass that I don’t know what it is.
CBA: Tell us about Ralph Stanley.
Ralph: I've always been a man that’s respected this music. Everything that I have is because of this music.
I would like it to stay traditional. I would never do a thing, unless it is through ignorance, to harm this music. I would hate to see somebody abuse this music that I respect this music with all my heart.
The Clinch Mountain Boys are true to the bluegrass music and Ralph has built a band to carry on it traditional sound. Thanks to Ralph’s dedication and love this music will continue to be pure.
Ralph was born in Dickenson County, Virginia, where he still resides when he's not on the road. After 55 years in the business, he's still a legendary banjo picker and tenor singer in the bluegrass genre. As a recording artist, he has performed on more than 200 albums, tapes, and CDs. He's also written many songs himself and in collaboration with his brother, the late Carter Stanley. Ralph's played throughout the United States and in many foreign lands, too, including several tours of Japan. In addition to the many honors Ralph has received as a bluegrass musician, including membership on the Grand Ole Opry, he is also a Shriner, a member of the Primitive Baptist Universalist Church, and active in his local community, having served on the Dickenson County School Board. Ralph is married to Jimmi Stanley, and they have two daughters, Lisa and Tonya, and, of course, one son, Ralph II.
