He was a blugrass artist and songwriter born Ralph Edmund Stanley in Spraddle Creek, Virginia.
He was half of the bluegrass duo the Stanley Brothers and may now be best known for his original recording of “I’m A Man Of Constant Sorrow”, which was later re-popularized thanks to the 2001 O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, on which he, along with The Stanley Brothers’ “Angel Band” and “O Death”,which won him a 2002 Grammy Award.
Ralph continued perform under the brothers’ original moniker, The Clinch Mountain Boys, following the death of his brother Carter Stanley and released his solo album in 2002
He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1992 and 2000 and was the first person to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in the third millennium.
He died from skin cancer in Coeburn, Virginia, when he was 89 years old.
Stanley Brothers recordings:
Banjo in the Hills (Ralph Stanley/William York)
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stanley
- http://www.stanleybrothers.com/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Brothers
- http://www.ralphstanley.net/