Friday Videos: Stanley Brothers
My son’s favorite country song is “In the Pines”, and it’s one of mine too. The lyrics, written in prison by Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, are about as lonesome as you can get, and the Stanley Brothers do a great job in this video clip from the 1960s. Banjo player Ralph Stanley’s tenor has been described as “haunting” and “sepulchral”. As you will hear, that description is more than accurate: Ralph’s voice never fails to send chills down my spine and raise goosebumps all over my arms. Today, the man is a shadow of himself: well into his 80s, he reads lyrics from a piece of paper on stage and rarely plays banjo. Yet I never miss a live performance, and it always brings tears to my eyes because I know I’m watching a living legend, a man from another time that we’ll never see again.
In the Pines
How Mountain Gals Can Love
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