Album Features Stanley Performing with Friends and Admirers Including Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Del McCoury, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Plant, Ricky Skaggs, Nathan Stanley, Josh Turner, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings and Lee Ann Womack
LEBANON, Tenn. (January 19, 2015) – Musical icon Dr. Ralph Stanley released his latest CD today. Man of Constant Sorrow is now available exclusively at all 634 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations and online at crackerbarrel.com for $11.99.
The digital album also will be available for purchase at select digital retailers. The record is distributed by Cracker Barrel and in partnership with Red River Entertainment and Bob Frank Distribution.
The three-time GRAMMY Award winner’s new CD features Stanley performing duets with guest artists including Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Del McCoury, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Plant, Ricky Skaggs, Nathan Stanley, Josh Turner, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings and Lee Ann Womack, while also performing two solo songs. Ronnie McCoury and Womack’s daughter, Aubrie Sellers, also appear on the album, along with Stanley’s band The Clinch Mountain Boys. The 87-year old International Bluegrass Hall of Honor inductee recorded the album in Nashville with Miller and Lauderdale as producers.
“I’ve always enjoyed singing with other artists,” said Stanley. “Everyone who joined me on this record did a fine job. I think this will be a project that my fans will really enjoy.”
“Cracker Barrel is delighted to bring Dr. Ralph Stanley and Friends’ CD, Man of Constant Sorrow, to our guests,” said Cracker Barrel Marketing Manager Julie Craig. “The performances are wonderful, the music is timeless and the project is a great addition to our exclusive music program. We know our guests will look forward to discovering this album.”
The 13 songs on Man of Constant Sorrow are:
1. “We Shall Rise,” Ralph Stanley and Josh Turner with The Clinch Mountain Boys
2. “I Only Exist,” Ralph Stanley and Dierks Bentley with The Clinch Mountain Boys
3. “We’ll Be Sweethearts in Heaven,” Ralph Stanley and Ricky Skaggs with The Clinch Mountain Boys and Ronnie McCoury
4. “Rank Stranger,” Ralph Stanley and Nathan Stanley with The Clinch Mountain Boys
5. “I Am the Man, Thomas,” Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale with The Clinch Mountain Boys and Ronnie McCoury
6. “White Dove,” Ralph Stanley and Lee Ann and Aubrie Sellers with The Clinch Mountain Boys and Ronnie McCoury
7. “Red Wicked Wine,” Ralph Stanley and Elvis Costello with The Clinch Mountain Boys
8. “Pig in a Pen,” Ralph Stanley and Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings with Paul Kowert
9. “Two Coats,” Ralph Stanley and Robert Plant
10. “Brand New Tennessee Waltz,” Ralph Stanley and Del McCoury with The Clinch Mountain Boys and Ronnie McCoury
11. “Short Life of Trouble,” Ralph Stanley and Old Crow Medicine Show
12. “Hills of Home,” Ralph Stanley
13. “Man of Constant Sorrow,” Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys
Stanley was born in 1927 in Big Spraddle, Va. He learned to play banjo from his mother when he was a teenager. After graduating high school and serving in the U.S. Army, he joined older brother Carter in creating the Clinch Mountain Boys and began performing on local radio stations and at regional venues. After Columbia Records signed them, they became known as The Stanley Brothers and went on to record such classics as “Angel Band,” “Little Maggie” and their signature tune, “Man of Constant Sorrow.” During this time, he developed a unique style of playing the banjo that became known as “Stanley style.”
After Carter died in 1966, Stanley continued to perform and record as a solo artist. Through the years, he helped mentor several future bluegrass and country music artists who performed in his band before embarking on solo careers, including Ricky Skaggs, Larry Sparks and Keith Whitley.
In 1976, Stanley received an honorary doctorate from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., and he has been known as “Dr. Ralph Stanley” ever since.
He was presented with the National Heritage Award by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, elected into the International Bluegrass Hall of Honor in 1992 and inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2000. His performance of “O Death,” featured in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” earned him his first GRAMMY Award in 2001 for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. The soundtrack album for that movie also earned Stanley both a GRAMMY Award and a CMA Award for Album of the Year.
His album Lost in the Lonesome Pines earned Stanley his third GRAMMY Award in 2002, this time for Best Bluegrass Album. His performance of “Me and God” with Josh Turner received an ACM nomination for Vocal Event of the Year in 2006. That same year, he received two major honors: the Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress and the National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush.
He released his autobiography, Man of Constant Sorrow in 2009. Stanley received a second honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Yale University on May 19, 2014, and was elected as a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on Oct. 11, 2014. For tour dates and more information, visit www.Dr.RalphStanleyMusic.com.
About the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® Exclusive Music Program
Ralph Stanley’s Man of Constant Sorrow is the latest CD release in the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® exclusive music program. Since 2005, Cracker Barrel has released CDs with a wide variety of artists, some of which have debuted in the top three spots on a range of Billboard’s charts including Top DVD Music Videos, Top Country Albums, Top Contemporary Christian Albums and Top Bluegrass Albums. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® exclusive music program includes CDs with Alabama, Rodney Atkins, Mandy Barnett, Clint Black, Jason Michael Carroll, Steven Curtis Chapman, Dailey & Vincent, The Charlie Daniels Band, Ronnie Dunn, Edens Edge, Sara Evans, Bill Gaither, Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, Amy Grant, The Grascals, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Neal McCoy, Montgomery Gentry, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Craig Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, The Secret Sisters, Ricky Skaggs, Michael W. Smith, Aaron Tippin, Randy Travis, Josh Turner, Wynonna and the Zac Brown Band. For details, visit crackerbarrel.com.
About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. provides a friendly home-away-from-home in its old country stores and restaurants. Guests are cared for like family while relaxing and enjoying real home-style food and shopping that’s surprisingly unique, genuinely fun and reminiscent of America’s country heritage…all at a fair price. The restaurant serves up delicious, home-style country food such as meatloaf and homemade chicken n’ dumplins as well as its made-from-scratch biscuits using an old family recipe. The authentic old country retail store is fun to shop and offers unique gifts and self-indulgences.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. and operates 634 company-owned locations in 42 states. Every Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® location is open seven days a week with hours Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. – 11 p.m. For more information, visit crackerbarrel.com.
About Red River Entertainment
Red River Entertainment was formed in 2012 and is distributed by Sony / RED in North America. Covering musical genres from Hip Hop (Tony Touch) to Country (Pam Tillis & Lorrie Morgan) to Rock (Hawthorne Heights) to Soundtracks (Warm Bodies) and more, Red River is positioned to become one of the top independent music companies in the world.
# # #
Suggested Tweet:
#Bluegrass legend #DrRalphStanley & @CrackerBarrel exclusive CD #ManOfConstantSorrow avail