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Ricky Skaggs | |
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![]() Skaggs during the Festival of Faiths in 2007 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Rickie Lee Skaggs [1] [2] |
Born | Cordell, Kentucky, U.S. | July 18, 1954
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, session musician, bandleader, producer, arranger |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle |
Years active | 1961–present |
Labels | Sugar Hill, Epic, Rounder, DCC, Atlantic, Camden, Rebel, Hollywood, Legacy, Skaggs Family |
Member of | Kentucky Thunder |
Spouse(s) | Sharon White (m. 1981) |
Website | www |
Rickie Lee Skaggs [1] [2] (born July 18, 1954), [6] known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, mandocaster, and banjo. [7]
Skaggs was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016 and both the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018. [8] On January 13, 2021, it was announced Skaggs had been awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump, alongside fellow country musician Toby Keith.
Skaggs was born in Cordell, Kentucky. [9] He started playing music at age 5 after he was given a mandolin by his father, Hobert Skaggs. 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 guitarist, Keith Whitley, and the two started playing together with Whitley's banjo playing 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. [10]
Skaggs later joined The Country Gentlemen in Washington, DC, J. D. Crowe's New South. In 1976, Skaggs formed progressive bluegrass band Boone Creek, including members Vince Gill and Jerry Douglas. 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.
Skaggs launched his own career in 1980, achieving 12 No. 1 hits, 8 CMA awards, and 8 ACM awards. In 1982, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the youngest musician ever to be inducted at that time. Guitarist and producer Chet Atkins credited Skaggs with "single-handedly" saving country music. [11] Skaggs is considered one of the pioneers of the Neotraditional country sub-genre.
In 1981, he debuted on Epic Records with the album Waitin for the Sun to Shine, which brought him to both the country and pop charts and produced two No. 1 hits.
In 1982, he released Highways & Heartaches , his only platinum album, featuring the instrumental heavy "Highway 40 Blues".
Keeping with his instrumental heavy themes, he released "Country Boy" on the album of the same name. He also had Bill Monroe as a guest on this album.
Exploring a role as producer, Skaggs produced Dolly Parton's album White Limozeen , which started her comeback in country music.
Skaggs also guested on other albums. In 1995, he sang with Vince Gill on "Go Rest High on That Mountain", which later won CMA's Song of the Year and was determined by BMI to be the Most-Performed Song in 1997.
In 1996, Skaggs went back to his bluegrass roots, and also experimented 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.
In 2000, he shared the stage with Vermont-based jam band, Phish. [12] 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 the mandolin on the track as well as sharing vocals with Jack White, Brendan Benson, and Ashley Monroe.
In 2011, Skaggs, along with other musicians including the Irish band The Brock McGuire Band, released their album 'Green Grass Blue Grass", an exploration of the connection between Irish Traditional Music and American Bluegrass and Appalachian music.
Also in 2011, Skaggs contributed to Moody Bluegrass TWO...Much Love, a bluegrass tribute album to the British Progressive Rock band the Moody Blues. Skaggs sang lead vocal on the song "You And Me". [13]
In 2012, Skaggs collaborated with Barry Gibb on the song, "Soldier's Son" which was released on Music to My Ears.
In 2015, Skaggs toured with Ry Cooder, Sharon White and other members of The Whites. [14]
In 2016, he produced the Grammy-winning album Love Remains for Lady Antebellum member Hillary Scott.
In 2019, he collaborated with Steven Curtis Chapman for Chapman's album Deeper Roots: Where the Bluegrass Grows
In 2019, Skaggs performed at the 6th Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Concert and Induction Ceremony.
As of recent years, Skaggs continues performing at the historic Grand Ole Opry house in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2021 Skaggs was nominated for the SOTE award which was delayed by the Covid pandemic.
Ricky Skaggs was previously married to Brenda Stanley and has two children, Andrew and Mandy, from that marriage. [15] Skaggs has been married to Sharon White of The Whites since August 1981. [16] They have two children; a daughter, Molly, and a son, Lucas. [16] Molly Skaggs is a Christian/Gospel singer. [17] [18] Lucas is a multi-instrumentalist and session musician. [19]
In June 2020, Skaggs underwent quadruple bypass surgery in Nashville.
Skaggs in 2021 was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Donald Trump.
William Smith Monroe was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, and created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass".
David Anthony Rice was an American bluegrass guitarist. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Charles Samuel Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time in 2023 as a solo artist.
James Dee Crowe was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until his death in 2021.
Delano Floyd McCoury is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respectively. In June 2010, he received a National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2011 he was elected into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Ronald Delano McCoury, known as Ronnie McCoury, is an American mandolin player, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of bluegrass musician Del McCoury, and is best known for his work with the Del McCoury Band and the Travelin' McCourys.
Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band formed in 1994 and based in Tennessee. The band's albums include Wondrous Love (2003), Marbletown (2005), and Original Traditional (2016).
Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prolific". A fourteen-time Grammy winner, he has been called "dobro's matchless contemporary master" by The New York Times, and is among the most innovative recording artists in music, both as a solo artist and member of numerous bands, such as Alison Krauss and Union Station and The Earls of Leicester. He has been a co-director of the Transatlantic Sessions since 1998.
Kentucky Thunder, or Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, is the band that plays with American country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs. Many members of the band have won numerous awards. Bandleader Ricky Skaggs plays mandolin and is the lead vocalist. The group has won the Instrumental Group of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association multiple times, as well as seven Grammy Awards.
James Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs.
The Whites are an American country music vocal group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. They consist of sisters Sharon White and Cheryl White, and their father, Buck White. Sharon plays guitar, Cheryl is the bassist and Buck plays the mandolin. Formed in 1972, the trio has recorded multiple albums and charted multiple songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. They are also known as frequent collaborators of country and bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs, who is Sharon's husband.
Doyle Wayne Lawson is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947 is an album by Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, released through Skaggs Family Records on March 25, 2008. In 2009, the album won the group the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. This album provides as a tribute to the father of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, along with other bluegrass pioneers, including Lester Flatt, and Earl Scruggs, who made a guest appearance on this album, at 85 years old when the project was recorded.
Dailey & Vincent is an American bluegrass music group composed of Jamie Dailey, Darrin Vincent, Aaron McCune, Wesley Smith (vocals), Patrick McAvinue (fiddle), Shaun Richardson, Rocky Marvel (drums), Gaven Largent (banjo), and Blaine Johnson (piano).
Songs From the Longleaf Pines is an album by American musician Charlie Daniels. Released on March, 22, 2005, the album was Daniels' first album to fully focus on bluegrass gospel music, after previously incorporating elements of the two styles on previously released songs.
The Travelin' McCourys is a bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2009. The band is composed of brothers Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury, Alan Bartram, Jason Carter, and Cody Kilby, and was formed out of the Del McCoury Band, in which the McCourys, Bartram, and Carter still play.
The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA.
Jason Carter is an American bluegrass musician who plays fiddle. He is best known for his work with the Del McCoury Band and the Travelin' McCourys.
Cody Kilby is an American bluegrass musician who plays guitar. He is best known for his work with the Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and the Travelin' McCourys.
Jeff White is an American bluegrass guitarist/mandolinist, songwriter, record producer and sound mixer. Jeff White has performed and produced albums with many artists including: Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, The Chieftains, Lyle Lovett, Tim O'Brien, The Travelin' McCourys, Michael Cleveland and The Earls Of Leicester. White won the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best Bluegrass Album with The Earls of Leicester. One of Jeff's key mentors is award-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland. Jeff and Michael have earned four International Bluegrass Music Awards for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. Jeff produced several of Michael Cleveland's albums. Jeff has toured with banjo picking Earl Scruggs and Louise Scruggs. Jeff White has produced and released three solo albums: in 1996 The White Album, in 1999 The Broken Road and in 2016 Right Beside You.
Country singer Ricky Skaggs in 1954 (age 65)