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Ralph Stanley Research Paper

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Dr. Ralph Edmond Stanley, a well known American Bluegrass artist, was born February 25, 1927, in Big Spraddle Creek, Virginia. He just recently passed away last year on June 23, 2016. During those 89 years of life, Mr. Stanley sure made a name for himself to be remembered for many years after he was gone. There were two things that made him stand out from many of the bluegrass artists. Those things were his original voice and his unique way of picking the banjo. Mr. Stanleys mother bought him his first banjo for five dollars when he was around 15 or 16. His mother taught him to play clawhammer style on the banjo and later in life he developed his own style from this strumming style. After graduation from high school in May of 1945, he went into the Army for about a year. The day he came home from the war, Carter, his Brother, and his father picked him up and later that night he made an appearance on the radio singing …show more content…

After spending many hours just listening to the songs played I discovered many different styles, melodies, harmonies, voices, and instruments. There were two songs in this album that were a trio that consisted of Ralph Stanley, Vince Gill, and Patty Loveless. Something that I think sounded very well was the harmony when they all sang the chorus of the song “A Lonesome Night”. The mix of Ralph Stanley’s high pitch unique voice, Vince Gills soft, smooth tone, and Patty Loveless honky tonk style blended very well. Some other instruments besides the banjo were guitar, fiddle, and the mandolin. To no surprise, all of these instruments are very prone to being involved in the bluegrass genre. From the many different voices that were included in this album, they each had at least a little piece of originality to them. You can definitely hear belting from some of the older people simply because of when they began singing and how they got used to singing loud without amplification

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