Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers

by David W. Johnson

Overview

The first biography of two integral bluegrass innovators and touchstones of old-time country music authenticity

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617036477
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	01/24/2013
Series:	American Made Music Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

David W. Johnson, Stratham, New Hampshire, has written about popular and traditional music for fifty years. His article on the Carter Family was included in Best Music Writing 2004.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

1 The Hills of Home 3

2 Many Days of My Childhood 18

3 Brothers in firms 28

4 I Band on the Run 40

5 Radio, Records, and Copyrights 49

6 "Come on Along, Join in the Song" 57

7 Making Record Time 64

8 In Search of a Sound 71

9 Lonesome Melodies 83

10 The Road Turns Rocky 97

11 Hard Times 107

12 Mercury Falling 126

13 Suwannee to Cincinnati 143

14 Folk Tales 158

15 The Well-Known Stanley Brothers 174

16 Coast to Coast 187

17 Starving Out 205

18 What the Doctor Said 222

19 Smith Ridge 237

Notes 251

Bibliography 273

Discography 278

Index 283

Editorial Reviews

"Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers is an intimate portrait of two brothers who indelibly shaped the bluegrass sound. David Johnson describes Carter and Ralph Stanley's ancestral roots in eighteenth-century Virginia, their endless performances in high school auditoriums, and their radio broadcasts with loving care. This book is a rare, beautiful tale about a distinctly American music that touches the heart."

—William R. Ferris, author of Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues

"Between 1946 and 1966, Carter and Ralph Stanley helped make bluegrass a vital new American music. In Lonesome Melodies historian David Johnson generously uses the voices of their family, neighbors, band members, and others who knew or met them, while also drawing on a wealth of documentary sources, to write a full and engaging account of their early lives and careers together. The reader meets their father, Lee, witnesses A. P. Carter through the brothers' eyes, learns how their iconic songs were crafted, and much more. I enjoyed reading it and learned from it. It's a must-read for bluegrass music fans."

—Neil V. Rosenberg, author of Bluegrass: A History and Transforming Tradition

From the Publisher

This thorough (but not particularly gripping) history from music writer Johnson covers not only legendary bluegrass musicians Carter and Ralph Stanley but also the history and culture of postwar Appalachian America. Johnson interviewed hundreds of musicians and their families in this detailed history. The Stanley Brothers grew up in Dickenson County, VA, where recreation centered around music-making for Saturday evening fun and Sunday morning church. When not working arduous day jobs, amateur musicians traveled from town to town to perform. Phonograph records soon popularized hymns and songs until radio arrived, allowing the Stanleys and others to perform live for thousands of listeners. For over two decades, they traveled and performed throughout Appalachia, Ohio, and the South. Yet by the 1960s, bluegrass festivals, especially the more “country” variations, were declining in popularity. The Stanley Brothers continued to sing, despite Carter’s troubles with alcohol. With extensive notes, a bibliography, and a discography cover hundreds of books, interviews, and recordings.

Verdict Its wide scope makes this title a deserving addition; an essential volume for those studying old-time, bluegrass, and country music roots.—Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA

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