Old Songs and Ballads, Vol. 1

In an amazing career that has spanned nearly seven decades, Dr. Ralph Stanley has carried his time-tested music all over the world. Although he is rightfully considered one of the pillars of Bluegrass, Ralph prefers to call his own style of playing old-time mountain music. Known both for his singing and his 5-string banjo picking, Ralph has kept alive traditional songs and styles that sound as old as the hills. He has always maintained a fine band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, a group that has included such great lead singers as Larry Sparks, Roy Lee Centers, Keith Whitley and Charlie Sizemore, as well as top instrumentalists (James Alan Shelton on guitar, Curly Ray Cline on fiddle and Jack Cooke on bass fiddle to name a few).

The songs and ballads featured here are traditional favorites that have been sung and played in the Appalachian Mountain region of Ralph s youth for years if not generations. They are truly treasures from the deep, rolling hills of old Virginia .