Ricky Skaggs was a guest on the Friday (9/18) edition of All Things Considered, aired on hundreds of NPR radio affiliates all over the US. He was interviewed by Melissa Block about his new CD, Solo – Songs My Dad Loved, released September 15 on Skaggs Family Records.

Ricky talked about his father, Hobert Skaggs, and how he was the inspiration behind Ricky’s dedication to music, and the mandolin in particular. He told the story of how his dad got him his first instrument at age 5 – Ricky said that he awoke one morning to find a mandolin in bed with him. “It was like the greatest gift I’d ever gotten.”

Block even takes him back to his TV appearance with Flatt & Scruggs when he was only 7 years old. Skaggs tells the story of how his dad managed to get him backstage at the Ryman – he had befriended the backstage guard – where Earl Scruggs happened to hear him play the mandolin, and invited him to audition for their TV show.

The new album features Ricky playing all the instruments and singing all the parts on a set of old time ballads and songs. Several songs are excerpted on the show.

You can hear the entire 8 1/2 minute segment on the NRP web site.