“I guess I’m about my favorite entertainer.” Ralph Stanley makes New York Times with New Book
I’m from Southwest Virginia. That’s no secret. I feel like when you’re from a place as special as Southwest Virginia, you don’t take many of your regional assets for granted, but the outside world does. That’s why I am so glad that other people have discovered and rediscovered Ralph Stanley. I know, I know…you’re probably saying, “who DOESN’T know Dr. Ralph?” Well, I’m here to tell you, there are people that don’t and people that only discovered him in the post-2001 “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” world known as the Bluegrass/Old Time Renaissance. Anyway, Dr. Ralph has just published his memoirs and The New York Times picked up the story while he was in New York to perform in Carnegie Hall with Steve Martin, another amazing banjo player.
It sounds like this reporter was genuinely impressed with the legacy and man that is Ralph Stanley. The interview and book review read like a Ralph Stanley primer for those who are not yet fortunate enough to know him. It covered his life in Dickenson, County, or as Dr. Ralph puts it, where he was “borned and raised way back in the hills,” and asks about his God given musical talent. The good Doctor’s answer? “It tends to run in families like a good line of dogs, and there ain’t nothing you can do to change that.”
This article embodied the very essence that is Dr. Ralph. It sounded down home, felt genuine, but at the same time, Mr, Stanley was not afraid to remind the interviewer that he was in the prescence of someone truly great. The interviewer wrote, “It used to be said that when you heard a Ralph Stanley tune, you either wanted to get drunk or go to church and get saved.” I know this to be true and I believe that the interviewer saw the light after sitting down with the man.
Where does this leave us and what does this blog even mean? It means 1) be thankful we have cultural gems in the area like Dr. Ralph. 2) The good ‘ol Doc is 82 and I highly suggest you go enjoy him at your earliest convenience and 3) We’re not the only ones that appreciate great music and yes, there are those who are quite jealous of our cutlural heritage. Do yourself a favor today; read the article and bask in the thought that The New York Times just wrote something about a good ‘ol boy from Dickenson County, VA.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/books/14stanley.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2