Banjo legend Ralph still going strong

Beats

HE’S been performing for more than six decades and at 81-year-old Ralph Stanley is showing no signs of slowing down.

Between 1946 and 1966, Ralph and his brother Carter were part of one of the most celebrated bluegrass groups in the world - Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys.

When Carter died in 1966, Ralph shifted from hard-driving bluegrass to an older, sadder, less adorned musical style.

As a bandleader he nourished young and promising talents such as Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks and Charlie Sizemore who all went on to enjoy distinguished solo careers.

In 2003 Ralph, who pioneered the “Stanley style” of banjo playing, and his friend Jim Lauderdale shared a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.

The previous year he won Grammys for Best Country Male Vocalist Performance (beating Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw, Lyle Lovett and Ryan Adams) and Album of the Year for his part in the ‘O, Brother, Where Art Thou?’ collection.

Catch him at Academy 2, Manchester, on Saturday.