A Rural-Rooted Exploration of Themes as Old as the Hills

Ralph Stanley is the old man of mountain music now, and all the proper tributes are being paid.

When Bill Monroe, the first patriarch of bluegrass music, died in 1997 at the age of 84, Stanley was left to carry on as a living link between today’s tradition-minded folk music fans and the rural strains that began issuing from Appalachia on records by the Carter Family and others in the 1920s.

The Stanley Brothers--Ralph on banjo and harmony vocals, Carter on guitar and lead vocals, along with talented sidekicks on mandolin, fiddle and bass--sounded as old as the hills when they started making their first nationally released singles in 1949.

With his 72nd birthday approaching on Feb. 25, Stanley today fulfills the role of patriarch with a weathered but forceful voice perfectly attuned to the elemental experiences of which he has always sung: coping with a loved one’s death or a lover’s scorn, surveying the horror in crimes of passion, and being lifted by faith in a heavenly reward--a belief instilled by his Baptist upbringing.

Stanley’s current album, “Clinch Mountain Country,� is a this-is-your-life exercise in retrospection and appreciation. No musty document, the double-CD set comes alive with consistently strong performances teaming Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys with a cast of famous friends and admirers, among them Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, George Jones, Porter Wagoner, Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, John Anderson and Junior Brown. It repeats the famous-fans collaborative approach of a well-received double CD from 1992, “Saturday Night & Sunday Morning.�

Dylan was the first guest star on board for “Clinch Mountain Country,� Stanley said, having been interested in, but unable to schedule, an appearance on “Saturday Night & Sunday Morning.� They recorded a duet of “The Lonesome River,� a Stanley Brothers original from 1950; then, Stanley said, Dylan turned to him and said it was “the highlight of my career.�

Dylan may have gotten carried away by the moment, but it’s not all that surprising given his deep immersion in traditional blues, folk and country music, and the unwavering pureness in Stanley’s presentation and preservation of old ways of music-making.

Other guests on “Clinch Mountain Country� have had similarly glowing words for Stanley. Two of them, progressive-country singers Marty Stuart and Jim Lauderdale, have put their money where their mouths are by hiring Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys as their backup for part (Stuart) or all (Lauderdale) of the artists’ upcoming albums.

Stanley, who plays Tuesday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Orange, in a concert sponsored by the Southwest Bluegrass Assn., spoke from his home in Coeburn, Va., in the mountains where he grew up. It was late in the evening, and he had just returned from a day’s studio work with Lauderdale. There was no sign of weariness or impatience in his burry voice, and he was gracious but direct. There’s no boastfulness or artifice in him, but neither does he downplay his contributions, having made music for more than half a century that is true to his roots and to his own concept of how traditional music should sound.

“It made me feel awful good, I’m real thankful for that,� Stanley said of the esteem directed his way by Dylan and other musicians he has influenced. “It made me think that I’ve accomplished something in the 52 years I’ve been in this business.�

“Clinch Mountain Country� is a contender for a Grammy as best bluegrass album--Stanley’s sixth nomination since 1994. He figures it’s about time he got to be a winner instead of just a contender.

“I think if I get justice, I should win this year, ‘cause I think this is one of the best albums that’s ever been recorded in bluegrass,� Stanley said. “You never know how the votes will go, but I feel if I get justice, I’ll win.�

To win, he’ll have to beat Doc Watson, whose traditional folk credentials are as pure and deep as his own, and Ricky Skaggs, a country music star who got his professional start (as did Keith Whitley) backing Stanley as a Clinch Mountain Boy.

Stanley hasn’t been one to merely rake in the tribute and all-star benedictions that have become his due as an elder statesman with undiminished chops. A recent album, “Short Life of Trouble,� is a 12-song homage to Grayson and Whitter, a once-popular but now-obscure folk duo from the 1920s that was a shaping influence for Stanley.

“They were in business back before I was born, but I heard their records and liked their sound,� Stanley said. “I’ve never heard anybody to this day that could get the sound out of a fiddle that G.B. Grayson got. I’ve loved it ever since I was a little boy. They had a good, lonesome sound, and I thought they deserved somebody to do something in memory of them.�

One measure of Stanley’s devotion to the “lonesome sound� as it was handed down by his forebears is his complete disregard for that instrument of commercial music-making, the drum. As far as Stanley can remember, he never has performed with a drummer, except for a couple of interesting exceptions during the early 1960s, when the Stanley Brothers were with King Records, an independent label in Cincinnati.

“I think we used a little snare drum on one or two songs back in the early ‘60s, just a little brush to set the time a bit.� One of those songs with drums was a remake of Hank Ballard’s R&B; hit, “Finger Poppin’ Time.�

“Sid Nathan, the president of King Records, wanted us to do it,� Stanley recalled. “We didn’t really want to, but we did.� It also was Nathan’s idea to bring in another of his label’s acts to accentuate the song with finger snaps: James Brown.

Stanley’s purist traditions appear to be in safekeeping in his family. His son, Ralph II, 20, who has been accompanying his father on guitar and singing some lead vocals since he was in his mid-teens, has embarked on a solo recording career along with his job as a Clinch Mountain Boy. A 6-year-old grandson, Nathan, who lives with Stanley and his wife, already is part of the act for shows close to home.

“He can sing every song I sing, and he’s a natural-born showman,� said the proud grandpa. “He goes onstage playing the spoons right now. We pull a little comedy, he dances a bit, and he steals the show.�

Many of the early Stanley Brothers recordings, such as “The White Dove,� “A Vision of Mother� and “The Fields Have Turned Brown� dealt with being cut off from one’s family by death or a misguided wanderlust.

In fact, Stanley said, when he and Carter were composing songs like “The White Dove,� which mourns the loss of two parents, the mother and father who had taught them music were, in fact, alive and enjoying the brothers’ early successes.

“I don’t think we had any reason� for singing songs about grief, Stanley said. “It was just the songs we liked. We always thought of home and our parents, and what could happen. A lot of that was on our mind.�

Carter’s death in 1966 was a turning point for Ralph, who by inclination had been the quiet brother onstage, content to sing tenor harmonies and leave the stage patter to Carter.

“In the year before Carter passed away, a lot of times he would leave the stage and I would have to do [the role of announcing songs and engaging an audience]. I believe he did it on purpose to make me ready. He knew he wouldn’t be around too long.�

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Stanley’s national recording debut. Looking back, he has a sense of completion.

“I really haven’t,� he said, when asked whether there were any musical goals he has yet to fulfill. “I never did actually crave stardom. I just wanted to do well, make a good living, which I have. I played most everywhere I wanted to. I feel I accomplished all I need.�

Which isn’t to say Stanley is ready to accept a gold banjo and retire. Besides the collaborative efforts with Stuart and Lauderdale, he has two albums of his own finished and ready for release after “Clinch Mountain Country� runs its course commercially. He has no wish to cut back on a busy performing schedule of about 170 shows a year.

“I’m gonna hit it hard just as long as my health will let me, and as long as the people want me. I don’t have any thoughts of retiring,� Stanley said. “I’m used to traveling. I’m on the road about half the time and home about half the time. By the time I go out and do three or four days [of touring], I’m ready to come home. And by the time I stay home three days, I’m ready to go out again. That’s the way I like it.�

* Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys play Tuesday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1250 E. Heim Ave., Orange. 7:30 p.m. $14-$15; $5 for ages 12 and younger. Ticket information: (909) 877-5893. Stanley also plays Feb. 20 at 7:30 and 9:30 at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. (310) 828-4497.