Carter Glen Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) was a

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitar player. He formed The

Stanley Brothers The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph and Carter perf ...

and The Clinch Mountain Boys band with his younger brother

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. He began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of The ...

Biography

Stanley was born in Big Spraddle Creek in Dickenson County, Virginia. The son of Lucy and Lee Stanley, Carter grew up in rural southwestern Virginia. In 1946, he and his brother Ralph formed the Stanley Brothers, ultimately becoming one of the most respected and influential pioneering groups of a new genre that later came to be known as "bluegrass". Carter played

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and sang lead while Ralph played

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the great natural singers in the history of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. Carter also composed more than 100 songs, and many of them remain standards in the bluegrass genre. He had a particular knack for deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. His famous compositions include "White Dove" and "The Fields Have Turned Brown." His arrangement of " Man of Constant Sorrow" was popularized in the 2000 film ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (some of his songs were published under the pseudonym "Ruby Rakes"). The brothers broke up in 1951, and Carter Stanley briefly played guitar with

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

and the Bluegrass Boys. In 1953, he and Ralph reunited. After that time, the Stanley Brothers stayed together as a brother act until October 21, 1966 when Carter began hemorrhaging during a performance at a school auditorium in Hazel Green, Kentucky, and had to leave the stage. He died six weeks later on December 1, 1966. A heavy drinker, Carter died from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

at age 41. He was buried in accordance with his request on Smith Ridge, near Coeburn, Virginia. In 1992 Carter Stanley was inducted posthumously into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.

Publication

In 2013, a biography was released ''Lonesome Melodies: The Lives and Music of the Stanley Brothers'' by David W. Johnson.

References

External links

* Carter Stanley at Allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Carter 1925 births 1966 deaths Alcohol-related deaths in Tennessee American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Bluegrass musicians from Virginia American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists People from Dickenson County, Virginia Singer-songwriters from Virginia 20th-century American singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Virginia 20th-century American male singers Appalachian music Blue Grass Boys members