Bluegrass Festival Pays Tribute to Legend
By Terry Massey
Backstage was the place to be Thursday night at the South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Musicians huddled and jammed on common tunes while friends, family and fans mixed and mingled over Thanksgiving Day leftovers.
But when Ralph Stanley, the Godfather of Bluegrass, took the stage as the closing act, you could have heard a snail sneeze. Silence erupted in the concert hall as well as in the wings as the man who brought old-time music to the modern masses crooned "O Death."
His haunting vocals, a little worn by time but still strong enough to captivate the crowd, were on display for the 40th year in a row at this event. He is the only musician to attend every event, as other bluegrass acts come and go each year.
"I've been coming to Myrtle Beach for 40 years now and this is always one of my favorite places," Stanley said while waiting to take the stage for his 90-minute show, chit-chatting with 10-year-old guitar prodigy Isaac Moore. "God willing, I'll be back next year."
The three-day festival was filled with famous bluegrass acts like Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, the Grascals, the Travelin' McCourys and Blue Highway, and all pay tribute to Stanley through song and praise when they are on stage.
"We would like to dedicate this song to Dr. Ralph Stanley, who wrote this one," Blue Highway lead singer Tim Stafford said before turning the stage over to Stanley. "We've been closing our shows with 'Little Maggie' for 15 years (since the band's inception). He's our hero."
Indeed, Stanley is a hero to just about everyone else who makes mountain music. In the 63 years Stanley has been performing - first as a founding member of the Clinch Mountain Boys with late brother Carter Stanley, and for the past four decades as a solo act - he has influenced countless musicians.
That's why many consider his 2003 Grammy for his work on the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" more of a lifetime achievement award. While the movie and soundtrack led to a rebirth of the popularity of bluegrass and old-time music, Stanley has been making it since 1946.
He and brother Carter created what is called "the Stanley sound" which echoes in today's music. But perhaps his proudest accomplishment is keeping that sound alive through song and blood (son Ralph II and grandson Nathan still play with him and have their own projects).
"I was worried about our music dying off at one time, but not anymore," said Stanley. "I'm proud to see the young people making it today."
In between his scaled-back but still hectic tour schedule, Stanley found time to put his life down on paper - not in musical notes, but in the form of his new autobiography, A Man of Constant Sorrow: The Life and Times of Ralph Stanley - the title of the most difficult song he ever penned.
"It was the hardest thing I ever tried to do, but it was also one of the best things I've ever done," Stanley said. "I'm 82 now and I go back to when I was about 8, so there were a lot of stories, some I had forgotten all about. I've lived through a lot of hard times and good times."
Stanley brought 500 advanced copies to sell at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and sold out before he even went on stage. The 402 pages tell the story of a man who personifies the musical genre he helped create. Stanley is bluegrass, and bluegrass is Stanley.
That point was evident at this year's festival, where thousands came to enjoy the music and camaraderie that comes to town each Thanksgiving weekend. While some came to see their favorite bluegrass acts in person, everyone came to see Ralph Stanley.
"We've been coming every year for the past 14 years and we see the same folks every year. It's like a family reunion," said Cindy Sauers of Greensboro, N.C. "We get see some new bands, but most of all we come because we know we'll get to see Ralph. He's a legend."
There are no comments posted. Add yours below.