Ricky Skaggs
Encyclopedia
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs (born July 18, 1954) is a country
and bluegrass
singer, musician
, producer, and composer
. He primarily plays mandolin
; however, he also plays fiddle
, guitar
, and banjo
.
by his father, Hobert. At age 6, he played mandolin and sang on stage with Bill Monroe
. At age 7, he appeared on television's Martha White
country music variety show, playing with Lester Flatt
and Earl Scruggs
. He also wanted to audition for the Grand Ole Opry
at that time, but was told he was too young.
In his mid-teens, Skaggs met a fellow teen prodigy, guitarist Keith Whitley
, and the two started playing together with Whitley's banjoist brother Dwight on radio shows. By 1970, they had earned a spot opening for Ralph Stanley
and Skaggs and Keith Whitley were thereafter invited to join Stanley's band, the Clinch Mountain Boys
Skaggs later joined The Country Gentlemen
in Washington, DC, J. D. Crowe
's New South
. For a few years, Skaggs was a member of Emmylou Harris
's Hot Band. He wrote the arrangements for Harris's 1980 bluegrass-roots album, Roses in the Snow
. In addition to arranging for Harris, Skaggs sang harmony and played mandolin and fiddle in the Hot Band.
roots, as well as experimenting with new sounds. With his band, Kentucky Thunder
, he is a perennial winner of Grammy Awards and International Bluegrass Music Association for best bluegrass album.
"I always want to try to promote the old music, as well as trying to grow, and be a pioneer too," Skaggs once said.
In 2000, he shared the stage with Vermont-based jam band
, Phish
. On March 20, 2007, Skaggs released an album with rock musician Bruce Hornsby
.
In 2008, Skaggs released an album he recorded with The Whites
on his Skaggs Family Records label.
In 2008, Skaggs recorded a bluegrass version of "Old Enough" by the Raconteurs with Ashley Monroe
and the Raconteurs. He played mandolin
on the track as well as sharing vocals with Jack White
, Brendan Benson
, and Ashley Monroe
.
BluegrassJournal.com Readers Poll: We Are Family; Jeff & Sheri Easter
, The Lewis Family
& The Easter Brothers (artists); Jeff & Sheri Easter (producers); Daywind Records
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
singer, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, producer, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He primarily plays mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
; however, he also plays fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
.
Early career
Ricky Skaggs was born in Cordell, Kentucky. He started playing music at age 5 after he was given a mandolinMandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
by his father, Hobert. At age 6, he played mandolin and sang on stage with Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
. At age 7, he appeared on television's Martha White
Martha White
Martha White is a U.S. brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes and similar products.The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899...
country music variety show, playing with Lester Flatt
Lester Flatt
Lester Raymond Flatt was a bluegrass musician and guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as "Flatt and Scruggs," with banjo picker Earl Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he...
and Earl Scruggs
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
. He also wanted to audition for the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
at that time, but was told he was too young.
In his mid-teens, Skaggs met a fellow teen prodigy, guitarist Keith Whitley
Keith Whitley
Jackie Keith Whitley , known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 until his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters...
, and the two started playing together with Whitley's banjoist brother Dwight on radio shows. By 1970, they had earned a spot opening for Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...
and Skaggs and Keith Whitley were thereafter invited to join Stanley's band, the Clinch Mountain Boys
Skaggs later joined The Country Gentlemen
The Country Gentlemen
The Country Gentlemen were a bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, DC, United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller, one of the group's founders who in its later years served as the group's "focal point...
in Washington, DC, J. D. Crowe
J. D. Crowe
James Dee Crowe is an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s.-Biography:...
's New South
New South (band)
The New South is a bluegrass band formed around 1973 by banjo player J. D. Crowe. Their first two albums, Bluegrass Evolution and the eponymous record known by the album number, "Rounder 0044," established them as a dominant force in bluegrass, though the two albums are wildly different.-Band...
. For a few years, Skaggs was a member of Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
's Hot Band. He wrote the arrangements for Harris's 1980 bluegrass-roots album, Roses in the Snow
Roses in the Snow
Roses in the Snow was a 1980 album by Emmylou Harris. While Harris' previous release, 1979's Blue Kentucky Girl featured traditional, straight-ahead country , Roses in the Snow found Harris performing Bluegrass-inspired music, with material by Flatt and Scruggs, Paul Simon, The Carter Family, and...
. In addition to arranging for Harris, Skaggs sang harmony and played mandolin and fiddle in the Hot Band.
Neotraditionalism and experimentation
Into the 1990s and 2000s, Skaggs has embraced his bluegrassBluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
roots, as well as experimenting with new sounds. With his band, Kentucky Thunder
Kentucky Thunder
Kentucky Thunder, or Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, is the band that plays with Ricky Skaggs. Many members of the band have won numerous awards. Bandleader Ricky Skaggs plays mandolin and is the lead vocalist...
, he is a perennial winner of Grammy Awards and International Bluegrass Music Association for best bluegrass album.
"I always want to try to promote the old music, as well as trying to grow, and be a pioneer too," Skaggs once said.
In 2000, he shared the stage with Vermont-based jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
, Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
. On March 20, 2007, Skaggs released an album with rock musician Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
.
In 2008, Skaggs released an album he recorded with The Whites
The Whites
The Whites is an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl , and their father Buck...
on his Skaggs Family Records label.
In 2008, Skaggs recorded a bluegrass version of "Old Enough" by the Raconteurs with Ashley Monroe
Ashley Monroe
Ashley Monroe is an American country music singer-songwriter. She has released two solo singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The singles "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" reached #43 and #37, respectively...
and the Raconteurs. He played mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
on the track as well as sharing vocals with Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
, Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released four solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs....
, and Ashley Monroe
Ashley Monroe
Ashley Monroe is an American country music singer-songwriter. She has released two solo singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The singles "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" reached #43 and #37, respectively...
.
Grammy Awards
- 1983 Best Country Instrumental Performance: New South (J.D. Crowe, Jerry DouglasJerry DouglasJerry Douglas may refer to:*Jerry Douglas , actor, who was on The Young and the Restless for 25 years*Jerry Douglas, country/bluegrass musician*Jerry Douglas , director and writer of adult films such as, Score...
, Todd PhillipsTodd Phillips (musician)Todd Phillips is an American double bassist. He is the bassist of choice for many of the most innovative, as well as traditional, acoustic instrumental and bluegrass recordings made since the mid-1970s...
, Tony RiceTony RiceTony Rice is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New...
, Ricky Skaggs) for Fireball - 1984 Best Country Instrumental Performance: Ricky Skaggs for Wheel Hoss
- 1986 Best Country Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist): Ricky Skaggs for Raisin' The Dickins
- 1991 Best Country Vocal Collaboration: Ricky Skaggs, Steve WarinerSteve WarinerSteven Noel "Steve" Wariner is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has released eighteen studio albums, including six on MCA Records, and three each on RCA Records, Arista Records and Capitol Records...
& Vince GillVince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
for Restless - 1999 Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky ThunderKentucky ThunderKentucky Thunder, or Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, is the band that plays with Ricky Skaggs. Many members of the band have won numerous awards. Bandleader Ricky Skaggs plays mandolin and is the lead vocalist...
for Bluegrass Rules! - 1998 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals: Clint BlackClint BlackClint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
, Joe DiffieJoe DiffieJoe Logan Diffie is an American country music singer known for his ballads and novelty songs. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun",...
, Merle HaggardMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Alison KraussAlison KraussAlison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, Patty LovelessPatty LovelessPatty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
, Earl ScruggsEarl ScruggsEarl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
, Ricky Skaggs, Marty StuartMarty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
, Pam TillisPam TillisPamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
, Randy TravisRandy TravisRandy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
, Travis TrittTravis TrittJames Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...
& Dwight YoakamDwight YoakamDwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
for Same Old Train - 2000 Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for Ancient Tones
- 2000 Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for Soldier Of The Cross
- 2003 Best Country Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for A Simple Life
- 2004 Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for Brand New Strings
- 2006 Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for Instrumentals
- 2006 Best Musical Album For Children, "Songs From The Neighborhood, The Music Of Mr. Rogers"
- 2008 Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album: Ricky Skaggs and The WhitesThe WhitesThe Whites is an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl , and their father Buck...
for Salt Of The EarthSalt of the Earth (Ricky Skaggs & The Whites album)Salt of the Earth is an album by Ricky Skaggs and The Whites, released through Skaggs Family Records on September 25, 2007. In 2008, the album won both a Grammy Award and a Dove Award for Best Southern/Country/Bluegrass album and Bluegrass Album of the Year respectively.-Track listing:# "Love Will... - 2009 Best Bluegrass Album Honoring The Fathers Of Bluegrass 1946 & 47
CMA (Country Music Association) Awards
- 1982 Male Vocalist of the Year: Ricky Skaggs
- 1982 Horizon Award: Ricky Skaggs
- 1983 Instrumental Group of the Year: Ricky Skaggs Band
- 1984 Instrumental Group of the Year: Ricky Skaggs Band
- 1985 Entertainer of the Year: Ricky Skaggs
- 1985 Instrumental Group of the Year: Ricky Skaggs Band
- 1987 Vocal Duo of the Year: Ricky Skaggs & Sharon WhiteThe WhitesThe Whites is an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl , and their father Buck...
IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards
- 1998 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 1998 Album Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for Bluegrass Rules!
- 1999 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2000 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2000 Instrumental Album Of The Year: David GrismanDavid GrismanDavid Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
, Ronnie McCouryRonnie McCouryRonnie McCoury is a mandolin player, singer, and songwriter born in 1967. He is the son of bluegrass musician Del McCoury, and is best known for his work with the Del McCoury Band. He has also recorded several solo albums....
, Sam BushSam BushSam Bush is an American bluegrass mandolin player considered an originator of the Newgrass style.- History :...
, Frank Wakefield, Bobby OsborneBobby OsborneBobby Osborne is a bluegrass musician known for his mandolin playing and high lead vocals.Born December 7, 1931 in Leslie County, Kentucky, Bobby Osborne is known primarily for his collaborations with his brother Sonny Osborne in their band, the Osborne Brothers. He was a pioneer in conceiving the...
, Jesse McReynoldsJesse McReynoldsJesse Lester McReynolds is an American bluegrass musician. He is known for his innovative crosspicking and split-string styles of mandolin playing, and is a forty two year member of the Grand Ole Opry...
, Ricky Skaggs & Buck White for Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza - 2000 Recorded Event Of The Year: David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Frank Wakefield, Sam Bush, Bobby Osborne, Jesse McReynolds, Ricky Skaggs & Buck White for Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza
- 2002 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2003 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2004 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2005 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2006 Instrumental Group Of The Year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- 2008 Recorded Event of the Year: Everett Lilly & Everybody and Their Brother; Featuring Everett Lilly, Bea Lilly, Charles Lilly, Daniel Lilly, Mark Lilly, Marty Stuart, Rhonda Vincent, Billy Walker, Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury, David Ball, Charlie Cushman, Larry Stephenson, Joe Spivey, Eddie Stubbs, Jason Carter, Dickey Lee, Freddy Weller, Mike Bub, Rad Lewis, Andy May, Darrin Vincent, Marcia Campbell, Clay Rigdon, Eric Blankenship and Bill Wolfenbarger (artists); Charles Lilly & Bill Wolfenbarger (producers); Swift River Music
BluegrassJournal.com Readers Poll: We Are Family; Jeff & Sheri Easter
Jeff & Sheri Easter
-Career:Jeff Easter and Sheri Williamson met in August 1984 during the Albert E. Brumley|Albert E. Brumley Sundown to Sunup Gospel Sing in Arkansas. At the time, Jeff was the bassist for the Singing Americans, while Sheri was performing with The Lewis Family...
, The Lewis Family
The Lewis Family
The Lewis Family is a family of gospel and bluegrass musicians from Lincolnton, Georgia. They are known as the "First Family of Bluegrass Gospel"....
& The Easter Brothers (artists); Jeff & Sheri Easter (producers); Daywind Records
Other Awards and Accomplishments
- R&R Best New Artist
- Billboard magazine's Artist of the Year
- Musician Magazine- Voted One of the Top 100 Guitarists of the Century
- Artist of the Decade- Listeners' Poll Award BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 2 - CMTCMT- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music rank #37 in 2003. - Judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music AwardsThe Independent Music AwardsThe Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....