RIP Ralph Stanley (1927-2017)

[odessasteps]

(Seems gauche to post O death, even if it might be his best known song)

[piranesi]

Damn.

The day I first tried napster, the first words I searched for were "Ralph Stanley"

It was a good evening. 

[Johnny Sorrow]

Well, fuck.

[Robert C]

Well this sucks.  Perfect end to a shitty day. 

[jstout]

It's funny - he's from my area, and my area is just ate up with bluegrass to the point where I'm tired of it.

I think of him less as a bluegrass giant and more as the guy who started billing himself as "Dr. Ralph Stanley" after receiving an "honorary doctorate" from a small college up here. Then he and his son, Ralph the Second, shill for some lawyers around here who specialize in black lung cases. Ralph the Second sings what he refers to as "one of my many hits" in one of the commercials, a sad little ditty called "Daddy's Dinner Bucket." I probably think of Ralph the Second shilling more when I think of the name "Ralph Stanley."

Ralph the First struck me as one of those typical country/bluegrass guys who probably would've loved to quit performing long before he did, but had bills to pay, or kinfolk to try to get established in the biz - he was working with his grandson at the time he died. I always wondered how much fun it was for him at his age to have to do all that traveling.

I always have to remember that people really like bluegrass, and not everyone grows up in an area where it oozes out of every wall as the area tries to market itself to tourists as Bluegrassville. I think it's like living close to mountains - they're always there, you just get used to them, and it always strikes you as funny when people say "the mountains are so beautiful."

"Yeah, I guess, never really thought about it much."

I guess I'd think about it much if I woke up one morning and they were gone. Farewell, Dr. Ralph. You've taken your dinner bucket to heaven. Say hi to Carter for me. You're no longer a man of constant sorrow.
 

[rainmakerrtv]

Only saw him once, years ago, in the Down From The Mountain review. In an evening of some folk, country and bluegrass heavyweights, he by far had the most impact (and yes, even at the first time I saw Emmylou Harris).