(From a while back)
We are all missing the late Ralph Stanley now since his recent passing. Icons like that can never be replaced but at least he left us a great body of music with which to move forward. Stanley Brothers tunes were popular at our jam here yesterday but they always were and will always be.
I’m not sure when it was that I was first exposed to Ralph Stanley’s music. Probably as a kid watching Grand Old Opry on TV or some other program. But my first distinct memory of Ralph Stanley came much later when I happened to see his band on TV in the late 80’s. They looked like a bunch of unsophisticated old men from back in the hills. I almost changed the channel but the sound of their harmonizing voices drew me in and it didn’t take me much longer to realize that these old codgers could really pick too. Ever since that experience the Stanleys have always been one of my favorite groups to listen to.
The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys were always playing on my CD after I moved back to California near the turn of the century. I started a family and i attended my first Bluegrass festival in 2006 with my five year old fiddle playing son. He walked up to the ticket booth with me at Analy High School in Sebastopol carrying his quarter sized fiddle and they asked him who his favorite Bluegrass star was. Without hesitation, Ethan replied “Ralph Stanley”. I had never been prouder of my son.
Ralph Stanley was many things. He was one of the best singers I have ever heard in my life. His brother Carter was such a great lead singer that Ralph didn’t get much attention at first. But what he was doing vocally with his brother was priceless. To sing harmony like Ralph will never again be duplicated. He sang loud when he accompanied another voice and his harmony line, while not detracting from the lead, was just as entertaining to listen to. And the notes he made in harmony! Where did he get those notes and tones? Often he would slide his harmony over various tones. A music critic once identified six distinct tones in a single note from one of Ralph’s harmonies. His sound was unique, ancient, authentic and inimitable.
After Carter Stanley died Ralph sang more lead. His voice had a piercing soulful quality unlike any other. I especially like his gospel singing.
In his prime, Ralph Stanley was a great banjo picker. He had his own distinct three finger style and picked good clawhammer as well.
Perhaps most treasured in the body of work Ralph left us is the many songs he wrote. Many were coauthored with his brother Carter but Ralph is credited alone with such songs as What a Price, Let Me Rest, I’m Lonesome Without You, Gonna Paint the Town, God Gave You to Me…, I could go on and on, you get the idea.
I wonder who will sing for me
When I come to the cross of that silent sea
Who will sing for me?
Rest in peace, Ralph Stanley. We will all sing for you and for many years to come.
