Man of Constant Sorrow, My Life and Times by Dr. Ralph Stanley

The year is 1935. In the backwoods of the Virginian Blue Ridge mountains a congregation of Primitive Baptists gather in a small country church house. At some point in the service, elder Lee Stanley lays a hand on his eight year old son’s shoulder and asks him to lead the church in the hymn “Salvation, O! The Name I Love.” In a high lonesome voice that would become synonymous with bluegrass the youth belted out the first line of the song. As the congregation chimed in little Ralph Stanley knew his voice was a gift from God. With his brother Carter they would go on to define the sound that we know as Bluegrass. In his newly published autobiography "Man of Constant Sorrow", (Gotham Books, 2009) Dr. Ralph Stanley candidly retells his life story in his own charming and colloquial words. Ralph is one of the last progenitors of bluegrass left with us and this glimpse into a lost world should be poured over and cherished. *****