A black eye for bluegrass
Pop & Hiss, The Los Angeles Times‘ music blog has a piece posted this past Sunday (4/26) about our beloved Dr. Ralph Stanley.
Written by Randy Lewis, it recalls a backstage encounter at Stagecoach 2009, held in Indio, CA.
Mountain music patriarch Ralph Stanley just arrived at the traditional-music themed Mustang Stage sporting a nastily bruised right eye, bandaged above and below.
I asked if he’s OK, and the 82-year-old quipped, “You should see the other guy!”
Ricky Skaggs, having just wrapped a scintillating set with his band, joined the conversation and extended a heartfelt, “I’m real sorry to see you like this, Ralph.”
The claw-hammer banjo master said he’d been standing on a stool cleaning an air conditioner back home in West Virginia when the stool slipped, sending him to the floor.
UPDATE 4/30: James Allen Shelton, Ralph Stanley’s lead guitarist and road manager posted this correction in the comments.
This report is all wrong. Ralph was trying to adjust the heat in his motel bathroom in Vacaville, CA last Saturday morning. He got up on a chair with rollers under it and it slipped out from under him. He hit hard on the tile floor. He took seven stitches over his right eye but was able to perform that night at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley and the next day at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, CA.
Email This Post
| Print | Top | 3 Comments
The venerable Dr. Ralph Stanley has been in the hospital in Big Stone Gap, VA since earlier this week, suffering from pneumonia. We asked Lee Olsen, who handles Ralph's dates with Keith Case & Associates, and he suggested that Dr. Ralph was doing fine.
"Ralph has a relatively mild case - the doctors...
Dr. Ralph Stanley will be celebrating his 80th Birthday tonight at a dinner to support The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center in Clintwood, VA. The dinner begins at 6 PM at Meadowview Convention Center in Kingsport, TN. The evening will feature performances by the ETSU Bluegrass...
Last night my wife and I were talking about my former life as a crew member for country singer Lorrie Morgan. I don't know how we got on the topic, but the conversation naturally turned to a discussion of Keith Whitley.
We ended up on YouTube watching Whitley videos. I happened across this one of...
Guitarist James Alan Shelton has informed us that his new CD, Walking Down The Line, is finished and will be released May 22 on his own label, Sheltone Records.
Shelton plays lead guitar for Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys. Walking Down The Line will be James' ninth solo release.
James...
Nathan Stanley is the grandson of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley. At just 14 years old Nathan is already playing mandolin in his grandfather's band, the Clinch Mountain Boys. The band includes three generations of the Stanley men as Nathan's uncle Ralph Stanley II also plays with the group.
Nathan...
CMT is reporting that derogatory remarks about Tim McGraw have been removed from the final copies of the Ralph Stanley autobiography due for release this fall.
CMT.com News ran a story last week detailing these remarks, which was removed from the site within a few hours.
They say that the publishers...
Dr. Ralph Stanley has received quite a few awards during his distinguished career. Stanley has been awarded four Grammys. He was named the 2004 Virginian of the Year. He received a National Medal of Arts in 2006. In early 2008 he was cited by the Virginia General Assembly for lifetime achievements. This...
Ralph Stanley II has just signed with Mike Drudge at Class Act Entertainment. Drudge will handle Stanley's concert booking exclusively.
Known affectionately as "Two," Stanley is continuing to tour in support of his newest CD This One Is Two. The CD is released on Lonesome Day Records.
All future...
Leave a comment
Comments are open and unmoderated for our registered users, only your first comment will require approval before publication. Comments do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bluegrass Blog. Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their content by The Bluegrass Blog.
Did Dr. Stanley move to West Virginia?
West Virginia… western Virginia? It’s all the same to the left coasters. =)
This report is all wrong. Ralph was trying to adjust the heat in his motel bathroom in Vacaville, CA last Saturday morning. He got up on a chair with rollers under it and it slipped out from under him. He hit hard on the tile floor. He took seven stitches over his right eye but was able to perform that night at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley and the next day at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, CA.
James A. Shelton
Road Mgr./Guitarist
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mtn. Boys
You must