Ralph Edmund Stanley

Bluegrass artist, known for distinctive singing and banjo playing. In 1946, along with his older brother Carter Stanley formed the legendary Stanley Brothers duo. The Stanley Brothers and later the Clinch Mountain Boys became one of the most popular brother acts in country music history. Created a unique style of banjo playing, sometimes called the Stanley Style, where the rolls of the banjo are continuous, while being picked fairly close to the bridge on the banjo, giving the tone of the instrument a very crisp, articulate snap to the strings as the player would strike them. Received the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his haunting rendition of Oh Death that was featured in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou (2000). Other honors include the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress (2006) and the National Medal of Arts (2006). Awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Lincoln Memorial University.