Ralph Stanley, bluegrass legend, dead at 89

[GradyPhilpott]

Another trailblazer gone.

Freddy Powers yesterday.

Ralph Stanley today.

Bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley died Thursday night after a battle with skin cancer, according to a Facebook post by his grandson, Nathan Stanley.

Dr. Stanley was 89 years old and a member of the Grand Ole Opry and Bluegrass Hall of Fame. After receiving an honorary Doctorate of Music from Lincoln Memorial University in 1976 (and another one from Yale in 2014), he was known to bluegrass fans worldwide as "Doctor Ralph."

Singing was as natural as breathing for Ralph Edmund Stanley, who was born Feb. 25, 1927 on Big Spraddle Creek in Dickenson County, Virginia. His first public performance was in church, and when he was 11 years old, his mother said that he could either have a pig or a banjo. Luckily for music fans everywhere, he chose the latter.

[...]

Dr. Stanley's career was rejuvenated in 2000 when his music was featured on the soundtrack of the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" His recording of "O Death" won a Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and introduced him to a new generation of fans. He released his final album, "Ralph Stanley and Friends: Man of Constant Sorrow" in 2015.

In his autobiography, Stanley wrote that when he celebrated his fiftieth anniversary in the music business, Bob Dylan sent him a telegram. Its final line: "You will live forever."

Funeral arrangements are unknown at this time.

Mountain Dew-The Stanley Brothers