The Kennedy Center Performance Plus Online: Roots of Country Music

As a part of the Kennedy Center’s Country: A Celebration of America’s Music festivities, Performance Plus™ program produced “The Roots of Country Music” where audiences learned about the beginnings of Country Music and its early innovators. The program showcased three of Country Music’s most respected musicians -Mountain music legend Dr. Ralph Stanley, Jim Lauderdale and James Shelton.

Ralph Stanley

Born February 25, 1927, in Stratton, Virginia, Ralph Stanley and his older brother Carter formed the seminal bluegrass ensembles the Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys which became two of the most celebrated bluegrass groups in the world. The music was inspired by their Virginia mountain home and encouraged by their mother, who taught Ralph the claw-hammer style of banjo picking. As a recording artist, he has performed on more than 170 albums, tapes, and CDs.

While he has long been revered by enthusiasts of folk, bluegrass, and country music, Stanley has also received international acclaim. He is a Bluegrass Hall of Fame member; in 2000 he was inducted into the historic Grand Ole Opry. In 2002, he won Grammys® for Best Country Male Vocalist and Album of the Year (for his part in the O Brother, Where Art Thou? film soundtrack). He holds the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress and was the first recipient of the Traditional American Music award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Stanley still lives near the place where he was born in a mountainous, tucked-away corner close to the rugged Virginia-Tennessee border. It is his secluded retreat from the rigors of the road and the 150 to 200 shows he continues to do each year.

Jim Lauderdale

Jim Lauderdale was born April 11, 1957, in Statesville, N.C. His father was a minister and his mother was a music teacher and choir director. He has written country music hits for many musicians including George Strait, the Dixie Chicks and Patty Loveless. His own recordings for Warner Bros., Atlantic and RCA in the 1990's garnered much critical acclaim and a loyal cult following, and his move to the independent Dualtone label gave him even more creative freedom and the wide-ranging audience he desired.

Besides his two solo albums for Dualtone, Lauderdale also recorded a pair of bluegrass albums with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. The first, I Feel Like Singing Today, pre-dated Stanley's celebrated national release as part of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. The second, Lost in the Lonesome Pines, won a 2002 Grammy. In 2003, Lauderdale worked with the wide-open grooves of the roots/jam band Donna the Buffalo for the album Wait Til Spring. An album he wrote with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, Headed for the Hills, arrived in 2004.

In 2001, Lauderdale portrayed George Jones in the theater production, Stand By Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story. He has won three Americana Music Awards, including entertainer of the year in 2002 and toured as Mary Chapin Carpenter's opening act in 2004.

James Alan Shelton

A Virginia native, James Alan Shelton was born on November 3, 1960 and took up the guitar at the age of 12, with his maternal grandfather as his teacher. At about the age of 13, he took up the banjo and at 15 became the banjo player for a band called the Bluegrass Travelers. He also played banjo for the Larkin Brothers, dobro and guitar for Flint Hill and banjo and mandolin for Blue Ridge.

In 1994, Shelton became lead guitarist for bluegrass master Ralph Stanley's highly respected group, The Clinch Mountain Boys. A multi-instrumentalist, Shelton has also released a handful of solo albums including "Half Moon Bay" which was nominated in 2005 for "Bluegrass Instrumental Album of the Year" by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

	Dr. Ralph Stanley discusses his early years growing up in Stratton, Virginia. (1:17)
	Dr. Ralph Stanley shares the development of his musical background in the church and leads the Performance Plus™ audience in a “call and response” rendition of “Amazing Grace.” ( 4:49)
	James Shelton discusses and demonstrates two country guitar styles: the influences of Mother Maybelle Carter with the tune “Motherless Children,” and the “cross-picking” playing style with an instrumental version of “Will You Miss Me.” (5:01)
	Jim Lauderdale speaks about Dr. Ralph Stanley’s influence on his music and shares his song “I Will Wait For You” co-written by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. (4:15)
	From the hit film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Dr. Ralph Stanley sings “O, Death.” (2:29)
	Picking up the Fives: Dr. Stanley takes us to banjo picking school with help from Jim Lauderdale and James Shelton. (0:58)
	Indicates that RealPlayer is required. Download now