Jan. 10, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: LISA WOSKE
(805)756-7110
Grammy Winning Bluegrass Legend to Play Cohan Center Jan. 29
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA -- Rolling Stone Magazine called Ralph
Stanley “a master performer without an expiration date. ”
The Los
Angeles Times dubbed him “a cultural treasure.”
The Chicago Sun Times declared “Ralph Stanley is undeniably
the most
important figure in bluegrass music today.”
On Saturday, January 29 at the Christopher Cohan Center, Cal Poly
Arts
presents Grammy winner Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.
Singing high and lonesome, nimbly picking on his banjo, the 77 year-old
Stanley will deliver his signature sound -- the last surviving link
to
pure, old-time mountain music.
After more than 200 albums and 57 years of music-making, bluegrass
patriarch Ralph Stanley became a mainstream “overnight success”
with his
award-winning work on the best-selling movie soundtrack, “O
Brother,
Where Art Thou?”
Dozens of major artists have recorded duets with Stanley, among
them Bob
Dylan, George Jones, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams,
Dolly
Parton, Ricky Skaggs, Joan Baez, Pam Tillis, and Porter Wagoner.
In 1946, Stanley began performing hard-driving bluegrass professionally
with his older brother, Carter. By 1966, when Carter died, the Stanley
Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys had become one of the most
celebrated bluegrass groups in the world, rivaling in popularity
such
leaders as Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs.
After Carter’s death, Stanley shifted the band’s musical
emphasis to an
older, sadder, less adorned mountain style. As a bandleader, he
nourished such young and promising talents as Ricky Skaggs, Keith
Whitley, Larry Sparks, and Charlie Sizemore.
Long revered by enthusiasts of folk, bluegrass, and country music,
Stanley won Grammys in 2002 for Best Country Male Vocalist Performance
-- beating out Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw, Lyle Lovett
and
Ryan Adams -- and for Album of the Year (“O Brother, Where
Art Thou?”
collection).
In 2003, Stanley was awarded another Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.
“Well, it’s true these awards have been coming pretty
fast,” says the
reticent, plain-spoken Stanley, “but I enjoy every one of
them.”
Of his Best Country Male Vocalist Grammy, he notes, “I was
a little
surprised, but that was the one I really hoped to win. It just felt
so
good I can’t hardly tell you.”
In January, 2000, Stanley became the first artist of the new millennium
to be inducted into the historic Grand Ole Opry. He is also the
central
figure in the D. A. Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus 2000 documentary, “Down
From The Mountain.”
Stanley holds the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress
and
was the first recipient of the Traditional American Music award
from the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
One of his proudest achievements is the honorary doctorate in music
Lincoln Memorial University conferred on him in 1976.
Humbled by all the recognition, Ralph Stanley does acknowledge
that
there are few major recognitions to which he still aspires today:
“Well,
there is the Country Music Hall of Fame. I’d like that to
happen some day.”
Tickets for the performance range from $22 - $34, with student
discounts
available, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office,
10
a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order
by
phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088. Order on-line
at www.pacslo.org.
Sponsored by KPIG 94.9 FM and KCBX 90.1 FM.
For audio and video samples of Cal Poly Arts events, visit
www.calpolyarts.org.
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