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Dr. Ralph Stanley Nominated for Fourth Grammy
A Mother’s Prayer Vies for Best Bluegrass Album Prize
Nashville, TN (Dec. 1, 2011)—Already a three-time winner, Dr. Ralph Stanley has just been nominated for his fourth Grammy award. This time, he’s in the running for the Best Bluegrass Album trophy for his soul-stirring collection of Appalachian spirituals, A Mother’s Prayer, on Rebel Records.
“This album is me—it’s what I’m all about,” says the 84-year-old cultural icon. “I’m honored that the Grammy voters recognized my work. Of the hundreds of albums I’ve recorded, I count this as one of the best.”
Coordinated by Rebel Records’ Mark Freeman and produced by Ralph Stanley II (a Grammy-winner himself), A Mother’s Prayer was spotlighted earlier this year when the International Bluegrass Music Assn. awarded music scholar Colin Escott the Best Liner Notes prize for his documentation of the album.
In 2002, Stanley earned two Grammys, one for his participation in the multiplatinum Album of the Year, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and the other for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. The latter achievement saw him triumph over fellow contenders Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett and Ryan Adams.
A year later, Stanley won his third Grammy, this one for Best Bluegrass Album for his collaboration with Jim Lauderdale on Lost In The Lonesome Pines.
In addition to his many other honors, the revered vocal stylist was the 2006 recipient of the National Medal of Arts, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts and President George W. Bush. In 2008, the Virginia General Assembly gave him its Outstanding Virginian Award.
Stanley’s autobiography, Man Of Constant Sorrow: My Life And Times, won the 2010 Print Media Award from the International Bluegrass Music Assn.
This year, Stanley celebrated his 40th year as a recording artist for Rebel Records.
Grammy winners will be announced during a CBS-TV special Feb. 12.
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P.O. Box 210588
Nashville, TN 37221-0588
Phone: 615 952-9250
www.morrispr.biz
© 2006 Morris Public Relations
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Nathan Stanley’s CD My Kind Of Country
Dr. Ralph’s Gifted Grandson Sings with Country’s Brightest Stars
Nashville, TN – Dec. 27, 2010---Nathan Stanley was virtually marinated in country music,
a fact that becomes increasingly apparent as you listen through his star-studded new album, My Kind Of Country,
set for retail release Jan. 4, 2011. The music is also available at CD Baby, i-Tunes and at Stanley’s website,
www.nathanstanleyentertainment.com.
On this 21-cut collection of traditional gems, the 18-year-old prodigy teams up with some of the most revered singers in
the business, including his legendary grandfather, Dr. Ralph Stanley, plus Gene Watson, Del McCoury, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs,
Rhonda Vincent, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jim Lauderdale, Larry Sparks, Connie Smith, the Isaacs, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless
and John Anderson.
Stanley was little more than a toddler when he began touring alongside his grandfather. By the time he was two years
old, he was playing spoons in the fabled Clinch Mountain Boys band. After that, he graduated to mandolin, rhythm guitar
and lead vocals. He has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada on stages ranging from the Grand Ole Opry to Carnegie
Hall.
My Kind Of Country, which he co-produced with Alan Maggard, is Stanley’s fourth album. He recorded
his first, Sandy Ridge, in 2006, when he was 14, and followed it with He Suffered For My Reward (2007)
and Where Will You Go (2008).
Influenced by vocalists as varied as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Larry Sparks, Stanley pored through hundreds of country
standards to select the songs he considered the best of the genre. Among those he picked are the well-loved “Long
Black Veil,” “Love’s Gonna Live Here Again,” “I Still Miss Someone,” “Folsom Prison
Blues,” “Once A Day” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” as well as the more exotic “Searching
For A Soldier’s Grave,” “I Only Exist,” “All I Ever Loved Was You,” The White Dove”
and “May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.” Whatever its degree of familiarity, Stanley stamps each song
with his own distinctive imprint.
“Nathan has got the gift of music in his bones,” proclaims the great Gene Watson, a man who knows a thing or
two about musical gifts. Ricky Skaggs agrees: “I think he did a great job. I’m looking forward to
hearing more from Nathan in the years to come.”
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P.O. Box 210588
Nashville, TN 37221-0588
Phone: 615 952-9250
www.morrispr.biz
© 2006 Morris Public Relations
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Inimitable Ralph Stanley Wraps Up Eventful Year
And Turns to New Album of Appalachian Spirituals
Nashville, TN (Nov. 22, 2010) - As
he prepares to launch a new album of Appalachian spirituals, the inimitable Ralph Stanley is wrapping up one of the most
eventful seasons of his storied 64-year musical career.
In October, the 83-year-old singer performed in the "Speaking
Clock Revue" concerts, organized by Oscar- and Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett and co-starring Elton John, Leon Russell,
John Mellencamp, Jeff Bridges and Neko Case. (Stanley was also a key attraction in Burnett’s multi-star "Down From
The Mountain Tour" in 2002 and "Great High Mountain Tour" in 2004).
On Sept. 30, Stanley and co-writer Eddie Dean won the
International Bluegrass Music Association’s print media award for Stanley’s autobiography, Man Of Constant Sorrow:
My Life And Times. The autobiography was released last October to near universal praise. The New York Times
called the memoir “a lot like the man himself: warm, folksy, down to earth, plainspoken, a little blunt and
prickly at times.” The paperback edition is now out, and the book is also available on Amazon’s Kindle
reader.
In August, famed cellist Dave Eggars released Kingston
Morning, an album that features Stanley singing the old hymn, “Jacob’s Vision.” And in
April, Ballet Nouveau Colorado debuted a new dance routine based on Stanley’s “Hemlock and Primroses.”
On July 14, Stanley performed at New York’s
Lincoln Center with Randy Travis, Allison Moorer, Ray Benson and the Yonder Mountain String Band as part of a series curated
by The Blind Boys of Alabama. Stanley subsequently toured with The Blind Boys.
In May, Stanley presided over his 40th annual
"Hills of Home Bluegrass Music Festival." a landmark event that featured music by Dailey & Vincent, Ricky Skaggs &
Kentucky Thunder, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Gillian Welch, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, as well as several
rousing sets by Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys.
Year 2011 marks Stanley’s 40th anniversary with
Rebel Records. In recognition of that milestone, Rebel will release on March 8, 2011, a newly recorded collection
of Appalachian spirituals called A Mother’s Prayer, with album notes by Grammy-winner Colin Escott. The
recording is Stanley’s 33rd for Rebel Records.
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Contact:
Norma Morris
615 952-9250
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P.O. Box 210588
Nashville, TN 37221-0588
Phone: 615 952-9250
www.morrispr.biz
© 2006 Morris Public Relations
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Guitarist James Alan Shelton Presents Where
I’m Bound
Clinch Mountain Boy Explores Bluegrass,
Folk, Country, Gospel, Pop in 10th Album
NASHVILLE (May 19, 2010)—Acoustic guitar virtuoso James Alan Shelton will release his tenth solo album, Where
I’m Bound, on June 1 on his own Sheltone label. Apart from his solo work, Shelton is the Grammy-winning lead
guitarist of Ralph Stanley’s band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, a distinction he has held for the past 16 years.
“I decided to stretch out a bit on this album,” Shelton says, “and do some things that you wouldn’t
normally expect to hear from a traditional bluegrass guitar player.” In this aim, he has succeeded magnificently,
selecting and arranging songs that yield the sonic essence of several genres of music.
Although he is backed on this album by such luminaries as fiddler Dewey Brown (also a Clinch Mountain Boy), mandolinist
Audey Ratliff and vocalists Savannah Vaughn and Dan Moneyhun, Shelton is the real instrumental work horse, providing both
lead and rhythm guitar parts, bass, banjo, mandolin and vocals.
The 14 songs include the folk masterpieces “Where I’m Bound,” “Pastures Of Plenty,” “Catch
The Wind,” “All The Pretty Little Horses” and “Danny Boy,” bluegrass- and country-tinged arrangements
of “Rose Conley,” “Cherokee Shuffle,” “Home Sweet Home,” “Theme From Dillinger”
(a variation of the Carter Family’s “The Old Gospel Ship”) and Shelton’s self-penned railroad
tribute, “Riding On The Clinchfield.” Further enriching the musical brew is a spare and sprightly rendering
of the immortal Buck Owens theme, “Buckaroo,” a Beatles classic, “I’ll Follow The Sun,” and
gorgeous acoustic renditions of the seasonal favorites, “Do You Hear What I Hear” and “Auld Lang Syne.”
A native of the Yuma community of Scott County, Virginia, and now residing in Church Hill, Tennessee, Shelton earned a Best
Bluegrass Album Grammy in 2002 for his part in the Jim Lauderdale/Ralph Stanley collection, Lost In The Lonesome Pines.
His earlier albums are Blue In The Blue Ridge (1996), Road To Coeburn (1997), Clinch Mountain Guitar
(1996), Standing Room Only (1999), Guitar Tracks (1999), Song For Greta (2002), Half Moon
Bay (2004), Walking Down The Line (2007) and Gospel Guitar (2005).
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Media Contact:
Norma Morris
Morris Public Relations
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P.O. Box 210588
Nashville, TN 37221-0588
Phone: 615 952-9250
www.morrispr.biz
© 2006 Morris Public Relations
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Ralph Stanley’s “Hemlock and Primroses”
Inspires Ballet
Nashville, TN (April 16, 2010) - Ballet Nouveau Colorado has based one of its
new dance routines on Ralph Stanley’s “Hemlock and Primroses” and will debut the piece Friday (April 16) at the Lakewood
Cultural Center in the Denver suburbs. The dance, which is part of a larger work called Somewhere American, Vol.
1, was created by Ballet Nouveau’s artistic director, Garrett Ammon. It will again be staged April 23-25
at Denver’s Performing Arts Complex.
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Piece: Hemlocks and Primroses
Choreography: Garrett Ammon
Dancers: Julia Meng, Jason Franklin
Photo: David Jennings
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Contact:
Norma Morris
Morris Public Relations
615.952.9250
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P.O. Box 210588
Nashville, TN 37221-0588
Phone: 615 952-9250
www.morrispr.biz
© 2006 Morris Public Relations
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Clinch
Mountain Boy Jack Cooke Dies at age 72
(Note Corrections Below)
Norton,
VA – (December 2, 2009) - Jack Cooke, long-time bass player and singer with Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys,
died TUESDAY (Dec. 1) at 10 p.m. at a hospital in his hometown
of Norton, Va., after collapsing at his home.
Vernon Crawford
“Jack” Cooke was born Dec. 6, 1936. His first professional job was playing with the Stanley Brothers while he was
still in his teens. He left the Stanleys to join Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys band, a post he held from 1956-1960.
During that time, he recorded such songs with Monroe as “Gotta Travel On,” “Big Mon” and “Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone.”
Later, he formed
his own group, Jack Cooke and the Virginia Mountain Boys, and played in bands headed by Earl Taylor and the Stonemans.
He joined the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1970 and remained there until he was sidelined by health problems early this year.
In 2002, he shared with the Clinch Mountain Boys a best bluegrass album Grammy for Lost In The Lonesome Pines,
a collection headlined by Jim Lauderdale and Ralph Stanley. Lauderdale produced Cooke’s only solo album, Sittin’ On
Top Of The World, which was released in 2007.
Visitation will
be at Hagy & Fawbush Funeral Home in Norton on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 5:00 p.m. –
7:00 p.m. and the funeral will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be Friday,
Dec. 4 at 11: a.m. in the Huff-Brummitt Cemetery in Wise County, Va.
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September 28, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Norma Morris
Morris Public Relations
615-952-9250
Ralph Stanley’s Life Story, Man of Constant Sorrow, Will Be Released Oct. 15 by Gotham Books
(Nashville, TN) - September 28, 2009 - The famously close-mouthed Ralph Stanley tells
all—or nearly all—in his fascinating memoir named after his signature hit, Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times.
Written with music journalist Eddie Dean and published by Gotham Books, the 320-page personal and career narrative
will go on sale October 15.
Stanley has been a luminary in bluegrass music circles virtually since he and his brother Carter launched the Stanley
Brothers duo in 1946. But he rocketed to real celebrity status in 2000 via his musical participation in the Coen Brothers’
movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? His performance of “Oh, Death” on the movie’s soundtrack album earned him
two Grammy awards. (A third would soon follow.) He was also the first artist of the 21st Century to be inducted
into the Grand Ole Opry.
Now 82 and still touring, Stanley writes in the book about his hardscrabble boyhood years in rural Virginia, abandonment
by his father, the influence of folk and church music, the Stanley Brothers’ live radio shows and early records, the perils
of touring in the 1940s and ‘50s on America’s backroads, Carter’s fatal drinking problem and re-inventing himself as a solo
act after Carter’s death in 1966.
In telling his stories, Stanley gives the reader intimate glimpses of such fellow stars as Bill Monroe, A. P. Carter
(of the fabled Carter Family), Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and of King Records
founder Syd Nathan and super producer T. Bone Burnett.
As a part of promoting his autobiography, Stanley will play New York’s Carnegie Hall October 06 on a bill with
banjoist, actor and comedian Steve Martin.
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For Immediate Release
October 10, 2005
Virginia Gov.
Warner Honors Dr. Ralph Stanley At National Folk Festival
With a proclamation honoring his life and work.
Nashville, TN - On Sunday, October 9,Virginia’s Lt. Governor
Tim Kaine presented a proclamation on Governor Mark Warner’s behalf to Dr. Ralph Stanley, a native Virginian, in honor of
his life and work as a pioneering traditional country music artist.
The presentation was made at the National Folk Festival
in Richmond, an annual three-day traditional arts event with approximately 100,000 people attending.
“Dr. Stanley has been a friend, a supporter, and an incredible
ambassador for Virginia, specifically for our Appalachian region. This may not compare to a Grammy award or the museum
named in his honor, but I hope this proclamation will reiterate Virginia’s pride and appreciation for a legendary musician
who has helped shape the musical landscape of our Commonwealth and our country,” said Governor Warner.
Dr. Stanley was born in and still makes his home in Dickenson
County in Southwest Virginia. He is a traditional country music pioneer who has released or performed on more than
200 albums and has won three Grammy Awards. On October 15, 2004, Governor Warner joined Dr. Stanley and other state
and local leaders to officially open the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center in Clintwood, Virginia.
The museum is an anchor on The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.
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Contact:
Norma Morris
615 952-9250
October 21, 2004 - New CD, The Stanley Brothers, Live at New River
Ranch is available from the fan club. Order
your copy today!
This CD makes a nice companion to the release a couple years back of a 1961 show at the same venue, "Riding that New
River Train." If you missed that one (or if you've got it and crave more of the Stanley Brothers sound),
you'll definately have to add this one to your collection. Live at the New River Ranch is available only at
the record table at Ralph's shows and through the Ralph Stanley Fan Club.
For Immediate Release: September 9, 2004
Museum Honoring Music Legend Ralph Stanley Set to Open October 16
-World class, interactive museum will transport visitors to the origins of traditional country and bluegrass music via Ralph
Stanley’s legendary career and authentic style of music-
January 26, 2003 - Hills of Home Bluegrass Festival has been updated.
The Press Office
Press Information
September
18, 2001
Ralph Stanley Has Sept. 25 Date
With Clinch Mountain Sweethearts
Still generating praise for his performances on the multiplatinum soundtrack album, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Ralph
Stanley debuts a new collection for Rebel Records on Sept. 25, Clinch Mountain Sweethearts. The album features the
Grand Ole Opry star and Bluegrass Hall of Honor member in duets with 15 of the top women vocalists in country, folk and
bluegrass music.
The songs and Stanley’s duet partners are "Ridin’ That Midnight Train" and "Trust Each Other," with
Iris DeMent; "Will You Miss Me," Pam Tillis; "Little Willie," Patty Mitchell; "Oh, Death,"
Gillian Welch; "Loving You Too Well," Dolly Parton; "The Memory Of Your Smile," Maria Muldaur; "Are
You Tired Of Me, Darling," Sara Evans; "Weeping Willow," Joan Baez; "I’ll Never Grow Tired Of You,"
Kristi Stanley; "Rank Stranger," Gail Davies; "Angel Band," Chely Wright; "You Win Again,"
Melba Montgomery; "I’m Ready To Go," Jeannie Seely; "Farther Along," Lucinda Williams; and "I’ll
Remember You Love In My Prayers," Valerie Smith.
Stanley’s producer on Clinch Mountain Sweethearts is Bil VornDick, who also produced the bluegrass patriarch’s prize-winning
Clinch Mountain Country (Rebel Records).
In April, Stanley earned a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall where he performed with other musicians from the O Brother
soundtrack. This year, major articles on Stanley and his Appalachian-steeped music have appeared in the New York Times,
Spin, Rolling Stone, Oxford America, and most recently in The New Yorker, an extensive profile on Stanley
by novelist and Newsweek music critic David Gates.
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Contact for Publicity: Norma Morris, 615 269-3670,
publicity@thepressoffice.net
Contact for Booking:
James Shelton 423 357-1623 JamesAlanShelton@aol.com
August 30, 2001 - Ralph Stanley will make his debut on CBS’s Late Night With David Letterman...
Contact: Norma Morris The Press Office
(615-269-3670)
For Immediate Release
August 30, 2001
publicity@thepressoffice.net
Ralph Stanley will make his debut on CBS’s Late Night With David Letterman Monday, Sept. 3, at 11:30 p.m.
ET/PT (10:30 p.m. CT). Stanley’s performance will cap a season of stellar achievements that include a June appearance at
Carnegie Hall with the cast of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack album; the continuing tenure of the O Brother
soundtrack at No. 1 slot Billboard’s top country albums chart; a major profile in the Aug. 20/27 issue of The
New Yorker magazine; and the September 25 release of Clinch Mountain Sweethearts, a collection of duets on
Rebel Records between Stanley and Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Iris DeMent, Lucinda Williams, Sara Evans, Chely
Wright and others.
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July 16, 2001 - Ralph Stanley & The Clinch
Mountain Boys Song & Memory Book Volume 3 is available by
online order .
July 3, 2001 - The Oxford American
magazine publishes annual double issue on Southern
music, which includes a CD with a track from Ralph Stanley and Bob Dylan.
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