Dear Ralph, I've always enjoyed listening to your "kind of singin" ! Regards, Steve Harris

Ralph Stanley says faith makes it better

12:00 AM CST on Saturday, February 18, 2006
By DANIEL and BILLI GRAY / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

A national treasure will be coming to Dallas. But you won't find this piece of history in a museum. Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley will be playing at the Granada Theater with his band, the Clinch Mountain Boys.
The 78-year-old singer and banjo player, who hails from the hills of Appalachia, has been a performing musician for six decades. Through his long and varied career, he's performed duets with the Who's Who of Americana: Bob Dylan, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs and Joan Baez.
He also appeared on the O, Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack playing his own stark version of "O, Death" while the Soggy Bottom Boys borrowed Mr. Stanley's classic song, "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow."
A belated surge of recognition has come upon Mr. Stanley. Although he hasn't changed his style in 40 years – he shifted from rollicking bluegrass to a darker, less adorned sound that he calls "old-time country music" after his brother died in 1966 – he's found himself in the national spotlight only recently.
Since 2000, he has become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, been recognized as a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, and won three Grammy awards. The Virginia Press Association chose him as "Virginian of the Year" in 2004.
Mr. Stanley has played on more than 170 albums and estimates that 35 to 40 percent of his songs are "gospel" songs.
"I like gospel better than anything else," he said in a recent phone interview.
Mr. Stanley, who has been part of the Primitive Baptist Universalist Church since childhood, considers faith to be an element that enhances his music, particularly his gospel songs.
"I've always enjoyed singin' that kind of singin', and usually if you feel it – you got faith, you know, in your church and everything – you sing it better and you enjoy it better," Mr. Stanley said.
Daniel and Billi Gray, Dallas-area freelance writers, can be reached at heigray@yahoo.com.

DETAILS: Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys will perform with special guests Two High String Band at 8 p.m. Friday at the Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Tickets: $25 to $30; call 214-824-9933 or visit www.granada-theater.com.

source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/arts/stories/DN-artmattersstanley_18rel.ART.State.Edition1.22cc89ed.html