The Stanley Brothers

The Stanley Brothers were a legendary American bluegrass duo made up of brothers Carter and Ralph Stanley.

Carter and Ralph Stanley hailed originally from Dickenson County, Virginia. 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 early on, as they were able to listen to the likes of the Monroe Brothers, J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers and the Grand Ole Opry on local radio. The brothers soon formed a band, the Lazy Ramblers, and performed as a duo on WJHL radio in Johnson City, Tennessee.  World War II interrupted 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.

They formed their band, the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, in 1946 as the first band to copy the Monroe sound.  Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Additional members of this early band were Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert on mandolin and Bobby Sumner on fiddle. Sumner was soon to be replaced by Leslie Keith.  On December 26, 1946, the band began performing at radio station WCYB in Bristol, Tennessee as stalwarts of the famed "Farm and Fun Time" radio show.  They made their recording debut in September 1947 for Rich-R-Tone Records, which had been founded the year before. Their records sold well "outselling even Eddy Arnold" regionally.  Up to now, Ralph had been playing the banjo with two fingers only on recordings and in concerts but switched in 1948 to the three-finger style popularized by Earl Scruggs.  In March 1949, the Stanley Brothers began recording for Columbia Records.