A nice article on Ralph Stanley serves as the cover feature on this week’s edition of American Profile, a print publication distributed in many US markets via newspaper insert.
Writer Richard McVey visited with Dr. Ralph at last year’s Jerusalem Ridge festival, and after presenting a thumbnail overview of his illustrious career in music, gave the last word to Stanley guitarist James Alan Shelton and the good doctor himself.
“He’s always going to be remembered as one of the greats,” says James Shelton, 51, lead guitarist for the Clinch Mountain Boys. “He’ll always be revered as one of the pioneers of bluegrass music.”
The plainspoken Stanley sees his legacy more humbly. “I just want to be remembered as a man that was honest in what he was a doin’,” says Stanley, who performs more than 100 shows each year. “A man that never got above the people and appreciated everything the people have done for me. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be doin’ this.”
If American Profile isn’t distributed in your local paper, the complete article can be read online. There’s nothing new there for folks who have followed Stanley for years, but it is heartening to see him profiled positively in such a mainstream publication.
