Jimmy Martin

Blessed with a great tenor voice, traditional bluegrass singer and guitarist Jimmy Martin mastered his craft as lead vocalist for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys for much of 1949-1951 and again in 1952-1953. Martin's vocals and his dynamic guitar playing both complemented Monroe perfectly, and in the opinion of many, he was the finest lead singer and guitarist Bill ever had. In 1951, between stints with Monroe's band, Martin joined with the Osborne Brothers, forming the Sunny Mountain Boys. Though this association lasted only until 1955, Martin has used this band name up to the present. In keeping up such high standards over the years, Martin has hired numerous major-league musicians, including banjo players J.D. Crowe, Bill Emerson, Vic Jordan, Alan Munde, and mandolin player Paul Williams, all of whom subsequently made it big in bluegrass. Martin is required listening for anyone with more than a passing interest in bluegrass.
Martin was born and raised in the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee. As a teenager, he fell in love with Monroe's music, which inspired him to pursue a career as a singer. He began working at radio stations around Morristown, TN, to gain experience; he also worked as a housepainter to make ends meet. At the age of 22, he auditioned in Nashville for Monroe's band to replace Mac Wiseman, and he successfully passed the audition. For the next four years, Martin stayed with Monroe, recording 46 sides for Decca Records. In 1951, Martin briefly sang with Bob Osborne, which was captured on a series of singles for King Records. At the same time, he was a member of the Monroe side project the Shenandoah Valley Trio, which cut several songs for Columbia.
Martin split from Monroe for good in 1954, joining Bobby and Sonny Osborne's duo as a lead singer. He stayed with the Osbornes for about a year, recording several sessions for RCA-Victor. Jimmy left the brothers the following year, taking the band name Sunny Mountain Boys -- which had previously been used by the Osborne Brothers -- with him. In the spring of 1956, Martin signed with Decca Records and made his first solo recordings. Through his solo records and performances on the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride, Martin helped bring bluegrass into the mainstream. This was primarily because he concentrated on bluegrass that focused on the vocals, not the instruments. Within two years, he began charting in the country Top 40, beginning with the number 14 single "Rock Hearts." Throughout the '60s, he had the occasional hit single and became a staple of the bluegrass festival circuit.
Over the years, Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys hosted a wealth of new musical talents, including Doyle Lawson, Bill Emerson, Clarence "Tater" Tate, Paul Williams, Alan Munde, and J.D. Crowe. Although the lineup of the band changed constantly, the quality of the musicians remained high throughout his career.
In 1971, Martin sang "I Saw the Light" and "Sunny Side of the Mountain" on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken, which helped increase his audience. Martin parted from Decca Records in 1974, signing with Starday/Gusto Records shortly after his departure. He stayed at Gusto for nearly a decade, releasing six albums during his tenure at the label. After Gusto went out of business in the '80s, Martin began his own record label, King of Bluegrass, which reissued his classic Decca recordings. Martin continued to perform concerts and bluegrass festivals into the '90s.
In 1999 Martin was the subject of a biography titled "True Adventures With the King of Bluegrass." A few years later, in 2003, he became the subject of the documentary film King of Bluegrass:The Life & Times of Jimmy Martin. The bluegrass legend passed away May 14, 2005 after a long battle with cancer.
Source: All Music.com.

Ralph Stanley "Ralph Stanley" (2002)

Ralph Stanley "Sunday morning" (1992)

Ralph Stanley

Born in Stratton, Virginia in 1927, Ralph Stanley and his older brother Carter formed the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys. In 1946 Ralph and Carter were being broadcast from radio station WCYB in Bristol, Virginia. The music, which was inspired by their Virginia mountain home, was encouraged by their mother, who taught Ralph the clawhammer style of banjo picking. They recorded for such companies as the small Rich-R-Tone label and later Columbia, a relationship that lasted from 1949 until 1952. These classic sessions defined the Stanleys' own approach to bluegrass and made them as important as Bill Monroe. After leaving Columbia, the Stanleys were with Mercury, Starday, and King. Leaning toward more gospel at times, Carter and Ralph made a place for themselves in the music industry. In December 1966, Carter Stanley died in a Virginia hospital after a steady decline in health. He was just 41 years old. After much consideration and grief, Ralph carried on without Carter. Already their haunting mountain melodies made them stand apart from other bluegrass bands, but Ralph expanded upon this foundation and took his own "high lonesome" vocals to a new plane.
Popular at bluegrass festivals, Ralph and each edition of the Clinch Mountain Boys grew to be one of the most respected outfits in bluegrass. As far west as California and even up in the hollers of Kentucky, people were drawn to the poignant, mournful sound of Ralph Stanley's style. Different from all the rest, Ralph's ability to hit the right notes and chords made him a singer of trailblazing proportions. Ralph continued to record for a wide variety of labels, including Jalyn, Rebel, King Bluegrass, Blue Jay, Jessup, Stanleytone, his own label, and Freeland. He was a devoted family man, but Ralph's constant touring took its toll on his first marriage, a union that produced daughters Lisa Joy and Tonya and oldest son Timothy. His second wife, Jimmie, also a singer, gave him another son late in life; Ralph II followed in both his father's and uncle's footsteps and played in the Clinch Mountain Boys with his dad.
A Bluegrass Hall of Fame member along with Carter, Ralph Stanley was an inspiration to Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, the late Keith Whitley, and even Monroe acolyte Ricky Skaggs. With his raw emotions and three-fingered banjo technique, he helped bring a mountain style of bluegrass music to mainstream audiences. A full survey of the Stanley Brothers' career, including sides they recorded for several different labels, finally appeared in 2007 with Time Life's three-disc Definitive Collection box set. Stanley's brand of bluegrass was always only a half step away from the Appalachian string band and church music of his youth, and in his autumn years he continued to do what he’d always done -- sing and play in a style that could really be called “Mountain Gospel Soul.” He marked his 40th year of recording for Rebel Records with the release of A Mother’s Prayer in 2011.

Source: All Music.com.

Old & In The Way "Old & in the way" (1975)

Old & In The Way

Old & in the Way was a one-shot bluegrass band whose legacy lasted far longer than the band. Led by Grateful Dead member Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), the band also featured David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), and John Kahn (bass). Garcia formed the band in 1973 as a way to revisit his bluegrass roots and demonstrate his affection for the music. To round out the lineup, he recruited Clements and Kahn as well as Grisman and Rowan, who were both West Coast session musicians who had previously played together in the band Muleskinner. Taking their name from a Grisman composition, Old & in the Way played a handful of gigs, most of them at the Boarding House in San Francisco in October. An album, also called Old & in the Way, was culled from these shows but not released until 1975 on the Grateful Dead's own record label, Round. The record combined standards and Rowan originals, which later became standards. Although the album was the only one the lineup released during the 1970s, the members continued to play together in various permutations over the next two decades, and the record continued to sell steadily. The group reunited after Garcia's death in 1995, releasing a second album (actually composed of 1973 recordings), That High Lonesome Sound, in early 1996. A third album of 1973 vintage appeared at the end of 1997.

Source: All Music.com.

O Sister! "The women's bluegrass collection" (2001)

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Will the circle be unbroken?" (1989)