“Dr.” Ralph Edmund Stanley died at his home today, June 23, 2016 in the same mountains of southwestern Virginia where he was born in February 1927. Ralph Stanley was 89 years old.
He was preceded in death by his brother and musical partner, Carter Stanley, who died in 1966.
Dr. Ralph Stanley was an iconic American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his brother Carter as part of the “Stanley Brothers”, and most often as the leader of his band, the “Clinch Mountain Boys”.
He was part of the first generation of bluegrass musicians and was inducted into both the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor and the Grand Ole Opry. He was the last surviving original pioneers of bluegrass music since the death of Earl Scruggs in the spring of 2012.
Further details and complete obituary to come.
(story courtesy of Music Row)