The Stanley Brothers (Carter Stanley, 1925- 1966, and Ralph Stanley, born 1927) - American bluegrass musicians.
Carter and Ralph Stanley hailed originally from Dickenson County, Virginia -- a beautiful, if stark, ridge country area, between the Kentucky and Tennessee borders, a place where it was hard to make a living. The family soon moved to McClure, Virginia where their parents worked a small farm in the Clinch Mountains. Music was a part of their lives from the word go, as they were able to listen to the likes of the Monroe Brothers and Mainer's Mountaineers (and of course the Grand Ole Opry) on local radio.
The War interupted any thoughts of a musical career, and it was not until both brothers returned from the service that they were able to make their own mark in music -- ultimately ending up on WCYB Bristol, Tennessee, where they would remain for over ten years as stalwarts of the famed "Farm and Fun Time" radio show. Their music initially followed a more old time style favored by Mainer's Mountaineers, with Ralph playing the banjo in the old two-finger style, interspersed with old time clawhammer playing, before taking a stab at the new three-finger style popularised by Earl Scruggs.
They formed their band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, in 1946. They were perhaps the first band to adopt the new music style created by Bill Monroe in the mid-1940s that later became known as "bluegrass." Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the greatest singers in the history of country music. The brothers also wrote many of their own songs and Carter had a particular knack for writing deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. The Stanley's style can best be described as a traditional "mountain soul" sound that remained close to the Primitive Baptist vocal stylings they learned from their parents and others near their southwestern Virginia home. Ralph has often used the expression "...old-time, mountain style, what they call 'bluegrass' music", to differentiate the Stanley's sound from mainstream bluegrass.
