Carter and Ralph Stanley--the Stanley Brothers--are comparable
to Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs as important members of the
earliest generation of bluegrass musicians. In this first biography
of the brothers, author David W. Johnson documents that Carter
(1925-1966) and Ralph (b. 1927) were equally important contributors
to the tradition of old-time country music. Together from 1946 to
1966, the Stanley Brothers began their careers performing in the
schoolhouses of southwestern Virginia and expanded their popularity
to the concert halls of Europe.
In order to re-create this post-World War II journey through the
changing landscape of American music, the author interviewed Ralph
Stanley, the family of Carter Stanley, former members of the Clinch
Mountain Boys, and dozens of musicians and friends who knew the
Stanley Brothers as musicians and men. The late Mike Seeger allowed
Johnson to use his invaluable 1966 interviews with the brothers.
Notable old-time country and bluegrass musicians such as George
Shuffler, Lester Woodie, Larry Sparks, and the late Wade Mainer
shared their recollections of Carter and Ralph.
"Lonesome Melodies" begins and ends in the mountains of
southwestern Virginia. Carter and Ralph were born there and had an
early publicity photograph taken at the Cumberland Gap. In December
1966, pallbearers walked up Smith Ridge to bring Carter to his
final resting place. In the intervening years, the brothers
performed thousands of in-person and radio shows, recorded hundreds
of songs and tunes for half a dozen record labels, and tried to
keep pace with changing times while remaining true to the spirit of
old-time country music. As a result of their accomplishments, they
have become a standard of musical authenticity.
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