The War interrupted any thoughts of a musical career, and it was not until both brothers returned from the service that they were able to make their own mark in music -- ultimately ending up on WCYB Bristol, Tennessee, where they would remain for over ten years as stalwarts of the famed "Farm and Fun Time" radio show. Their music initially followed a more old time style favored by Mainer's Mountaineers, with Ralph playing the banjo in the old two-finger style, interspersed with old time clawhammer playing, before taking a stab at the new three-finger style popularised by Earl Scruggs.
They formed The Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. They were perhaps the first band to adopt the new music style created by Bill Monroe in the mid-1940s that later became known as bluegrass. Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the greatest singers in the history of country music. The brothers also wrote many of their own songs and Carter had a particular knack for writing deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. The Stanley's style can best be described as a traditional "mountain soul" sound that remained close to the Primitive Baptist vocal stylings they learned from their parents and others near their southwestern Virginia home.
The early Stanley Brothers recordings on Rich-R-Tone (of Johnson City, Tennessee) included Pee Wee Lambert on mandolin. They later added an innovative touch to their traditional sound with the guitar solos of George Shuffler who often used a crosspicking style.
Carter performed briefly with Bill Monroe while Ralph was recovering from injuries received in an automobile accident in 1951. As bluegrass music grew less popular in the late 1950s, the Stanley Brothers moved to Live Oak, Florida to headline the weekly Suwannee River Jamboree radio show on WNER. The three-hour show was also syndicated across the Southeast. Otherwise the brothers performed together until 1966 (from 1961 on as a duo). After Carter's death Ralph revived the Clinch Mountain Boys and is still performing in 2006. Among the musicians who have played in the revived Clinch Mountain Boys are Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, Curly Ray Cline, Jack Cooke, and Ralph Stanley II. Ralph's career received a big boost with his prominent role on the phenomenally successful soundtrack recording of the 2000 film, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?." The Stanley Brothers were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1992.
Among the Stanley Brothers' best known recordings are:
* I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow (1950, Columbia)
* Rank Stranger
* Angel Band
* How Mountain Girls Can Love
* How Far to Little Rock? (novelty)
* Still trying to get to Little Rock (novelty)
* Ridin' That Midnite Train
* Clinch Mountain Backstep
* She's More To Be Pitied
* The Memory of Your Smile
* Love Me Darlin' Just Tonight
Clinch Mountain Boys Members
* Carter Stanley (guitar)
* Ralph Stanley (banjo)
* Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert (mandolin)
* Jim Williams (mandolin)
* Curly Lambert (mandolin)
* Leslie Keith (fiddle)
* Robert "Bobby" Sumner (fiddle)
* Les Woodie (fiddle)
* Ralph Mayo (fiddle, guitar)
* Chubby Anthony (fiddle)
* Art Stamper (fiddle)
* Joe Meadows (fiddle)
* Red Stanley (fiddle)
* Don Miller (fiddle)
* Vernon Derrick (fiddle)
* James "Jay" Hughes (bass)
* Ernie Newton (bass)
* Chick Stripling (bass)
* Mike Seeger (bass)
* Bill Napier (guitar, mandolin)
* George Shuffler (guitar, bass)
* Larry Sparks (guitar)
External links
* Ralph Stanley Discography
* Recording of "We Are Going to Paint the Town" from a 1958 Florida radio show (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
* Podcast (mp3) of one of the Stanley Brothers' Suwannee River Jamboree raido show from 1958 (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
Old Country Church
The Stanley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With my friends at the old country church
There with mother we went, and our Sundays were spent
With my friends at the old country church
Precious years precious years, sweet memory
Oh what joy they bring to me
How I long once more to be
As a small country boy, how my heart beat with joy
As I knelt at the old country church
There with Jesus above in his wonderful love
Saved my soul at the old country church
How I wish that today all the people would pray
As they did at the old country church
If they'd only confess, Jesus surely would bless
As he did at the old country church
The lyrics to The Stanley Brothers' song Old Country Church tell of the deep longing the singer has for days gone by, particularly the Sundays spent with family and friends at the titular old country church. The first verse speaks of the singer's desire to return to this place, which is dear to him, and to be reunited with the people he spent his childhood with. The second verse takes on a more religious tone, describing the singer's memories of kneeling in prayer at the church and feeling the love of Jesus, who saved his soul. The final verse is a call to all people to pray and confess their sins, just as they did at the old country church, with the assurance that Jesus will bless those who do so.
The lyrics to Old Country Church are likely to resonate with many listeners who have fond memories of attending church as children and feeling a sense of community and belonging there. The song also contains a strong message about the importance of faith and prayer, and the need for people to be more open about their spiritual lives.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a place dear to me where I'm longing to be
I desire to return to a cherished place that means a lot to me
With my friends at the old country church
I want to reunite with my pals at the rural church
There with mother we went, and our Sundays were spent
I visited the church with my mother every Sunday
With my friends at the old country church
I enjoyed the company of my buddies at the countryside chapel
Precious years precious years, sweet memory
Those times were priceless and linger in my mind affectionately
Oh what joy they bring to me
The memories fill me with immense happiness
How I long once more to be
I really want to experience that again
With my friends at the old country church
With my buddies at the rural chapel
As a small country boy, how my heart beat with joy
As an innocent kid from the countryside, the church brought me euphoria
As I knelt at the old country church
As I prayed inside the ancient rural chapel
There with Jesus above in his wonderful love
I felt the divine presence of Jesus and his magnificent affection
Saved my soul at the old country church
I felt my soul was saved at the humble chapel
How I wish that today all the people would pray
I yearn for everyone to pray nowadays too
As they did at the old country church
The same way they used to do at the rural chapel
If they'd only confess, Jesus surely would bless
If only they would confess their wrongdoing, Jesus would undoubtedly bless them
As he did at the old country church
He blessed people the same way he did at the rural chapel
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J.W. VAUGHN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@josiejones3186
💓❤️💓
AMEN BROTHER!!!
Your faith inspires
me to pray…
💓❤️💓
🙏🏻THANK YOU,
and
PRAISE YOU
JESUS CHRIST,
💓❤️💓
my Dear Lord & Saviour
for shewing YOUR
sweet,tender mercies
on a sinner like me!
💓You never left me,
nor forsaken me,
but instead,
YOU were right there
with me at the lowest
moments of my life;
💓THERE YOU WERE…
… RIGHT THERE BESIDE
ME, and YOU STAYED
WITH ME Lord Jesus,
all through the years,
TO SAVE
a wretch like me!
💓💔💓
Thank you Jesus…
…and it is in Thy Holy,
Majestic, Merciful
Name I pray!💓
💓🙏🏻💓
Amen,
And A M E N !
💓☦️🕊
@karenronan4825
A1 - That Little Old Country Church - 0:00
A2 - Nobody Answered Me - 2:49
A3 - Shake My Mother's Hand For Me - 6:57
A4 - I Heard My Mother Call My Name In Prayer - 9:22
A5 - Mother's Only Sleeping - 11:29
A6 - Shake Hands With Mother Again - 14:45
B1 - Hide Ye In The Blood - 17:52
B2 - Give Me Your Hand - 20:02
B3 - Where We'll Never Grow Old - 21:45
B4 - Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - 24:01
B5 - Angel Band - 26:31
B6 - Are You Washed In The Blood - 28:42
B7 - Farther Along - 31:37
@mariemccarter6412
I'm 75 and I wad raised on music like this I love this song especially because my Mom sung it at church. Great group💞🌹🙏
@bevkern3858
This is what I was raised on growing up while mom fixed biscuits and gravy
@bevkern3858
Miss you mom she passed in 2019 at 89 but few mo been 90 . Love you mommy
@Koolick
This is so soul-satisfying! Praise God! Wonderful musicianship. Just love it. Many thanks and God bless you.
@Zangiefbeefgrief
without Christ we are nothing. Thank God for my Mother's prayers.
@timheck495
You are so right! We are nothing without Christ. But we do have Christ.
@josiejones3186
💓❤️💓
AMEN BROTHER!!!
Your faith inspires
me to pray…
💓❤️💓
🙏🏻THANK YOU,
and
PRAISE YOU
JESUS CHRIST,
💓❤️💓
my Dear Lord & Saviour
for shewing YOUR
sweet,tender mercies
on a sinner like me!
💓You never left me,
nor forsaken me,
but instead,
YOU were right there
with me at the lowest
moments of my life;
💓THERE YOU WERE…
… RIGHT THERE BESIDE
ME, and YOU STAYED
WITH ME Lord Jesus,
all through the years,
TO SAVE
a wretch like me!
💓💔💓
Thank you Jesus…
…and it is in Thy Holy,
Majestic, Merciful
Name I pray!💓
💓🙏🏻💓
Amen,
And A M E N !
💓☦️🕊
@robincarlton7962
I am so glad I found your channel. It is so hard to find bluegrass anymore. Thank you so much!!
@williamc.hensel130
One of the gentle joys of living in Franklin County, VA, at the foot of the Blue Ridge for a while was worshiping in some of the small churches in the coves and hollows, where music like this rang out among old friends and families, and where many young seminary graduates who aspired to big city churches were sent by bishops and district superintendents for seasoning - some of those small congregations were specialists in growing pastors, only to see them pack and move to the city, one after another. I hope some of those ministers, as they matured, figured out the grace they'd been shown 🙂.
@donaldlucas2101
And some of those mountain tops.....THANKYOU....