Ralph Stanley is probably one of the few country singers who is surprised by his success. He is not a boastful person and was the first one to admit that he wasn't sure if he was good enough to be a professional singer.

However he has surprised even himself, as he has come a long way from the first time he appeared in public. He plays clawhammer style on the banjo because he picked it up from his mother. Stanley sings the bluegrass country music which is always in demand.

Since Stanley won the Grammy Award for "O Brother Where Art Thou," he has become even more willing to help others in need. Ralph has a heart as big as the outdoors and is the first one to be there in times of need. He helped out James Price when he was going through a difficult time and Price didn't even ask for his help. That is just the way he is, say his closest friends.

Stanley says that he loved to play the banjo ever since he was a kid and he grew up listening to his father sing old church songs. This is where he got his desire to play and sing. He felt that he needed some strong support in the singing department and formed the Clinch Mountain Family. His love for music has kept him going and his loyalty to the group makes him a one in a million kind of person.

Claire Lynch, an American bluegrass singer songwriter, and session vocalist, was born February 20, 1954, and lived in Kingston, New York until she was 12 years old, when the family moved to Hazel Green, Alabama. She launched two careers songwriter and session vocalist, while raising a family. Her harmonies have been on albums of Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Ralph Stanley.

Lynch regrouped her Front Porch String Band in 1991, and her album, Lines and Traces was a success, which led to a second solo album, Friends for a Lifetime, in 1993. In 1995, her album Moonlighter, received a Grammy nomination, and in 1997 her album Silver and Gold also received a Grammy nomination. The next several years her Front Porch String Band became one of the sharpest, most exciting post modern bluegrass bands on the circuit. Claire stayed on the Gavin Americana and Bluegrass Unlimited charts for some time, and received a IBMA award in 1997 for Female Vocalist of the Year. Lynch changed the name of her band in 2005 to The Claire Lynch Band, and recorded and toured. In 2006, her Rounder release New Day was named number two in Bluegrass Now magazine's Top Ten Albums of the Year chart.

In 2007, The Claire Lynch Band went on tour in Europe and performed a concert in a German opera house, Oldenburgisches Staats theater in Oldenburg, Northern Germany. It was the first time a bluegrass band had performed in this theater. Lynch has been a finalist seven times for the IBMA award for female vocalist of the year. Her reviews say she is a perfect mix of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. Claire has the clear, pure voice of Emmylou, bluegrass soul of Dolly, and interpretive skills of Linda.

Alison Krauss, born July 23, 1971, is a fiddler and an American Bluegrass singer. Alison started out her singing career very young. In 1985, at the age of 14, Alison signed a contract with Rounder Records and she released her very first solo in 1987, "Too Late To Cry." Later on she was asked to join a group, with whom she still performs with. The band is called Alison Krauss and Union Station. In 1989, the band released their first album as a group titled “Two Highways.”

The band consists of Alison Krauss who is lead vocals, plays the fiddle and viola. Barry Bales is on bass, Jerry Douglas on dobra, Rob Block plays the guitar and banjo and last but not least Dan Tyminski plays guitar and mandolin. Tyminski has his own recognition for his work providing the musical voice for George Clooney in the hit movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” the hit “I am a man of constant sorrow” won him a Grammy Award. Back to lead vocals, Krauss sings as a soprano and has even been described to as sounding “angelic.”

The groups songs are mostly about love, lost love and songs that Alison can really relate to. Krauss performs typically in the country and bluegrass genre. However, she has worked with rock artists such as Sting and Phish. In 1995 the band made bluegrass sales history with the release of “Now That I’ve Found You” which achieved double platinum status. Alison has produced several of her own records with Union Station. She has 27 Grammy Awards, that is more than any other female artist in any musical category.

"Oh Brother Where Art Thou" is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression in 1933. It is a satire loosely based on the Odyssey by Homer. The music in the film is period specific including that of Virginia bluegrass by singer Ralph Stanley. The soundtrack of the film has sold more than four million copies and has been one of the most unexpected hits of recent times. It won the 2002 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It is described as primarily bluegrass but also included in the depiction of music category is roots, mountain music and old time country.

To produce these fabulous sounds harmonies, gospel choirs, mandolins, guitars, violins and banjos were applied. This music was first popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s and the styles were used to emphasize the film’s plot. The music is compelling and it brings back the times when music was a part of everyday life. The Coen brothers hired veteran musician and producer T-Bone Burnett who is heavily involved in roots music. Burnett and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch together found the most accurate songs for the film. The most inspired choice was to revive a melody called, “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow.”

It is a folk song from the Appalachian Mountains recorded in 1922. This song is believed to have made the soundtrack a hit. It was the anthem in the movie that made George Clooney’s band, The Soggy Bottom Boys, Depression-era stars. The Soggy Bottom Boys is named as homage to the famous Foggy Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. The voices behind the band are well-known bluegrass musicians: Union Station’s Dan Tyminski, Nashville songwriter Harley Allen and the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright.

Ralph Stanley is one of the most well known bluegrass artist of our time. His excellence on the banjo and high pitched tenor voice have made him an icon in the bluegrass genre.

Ralph Stanley was born and raised in southwest Virginia. He got his first banjo when he was a teenager and his mother taught him how to play it. In 1946, after returning from the army, he formed a group with his older brother Carter. They named their bluegrass group the Clinch Mountain Boys. They played and sang typical music of the area. After performing on the local radio, they relocated to Bristol, Virginia, and created the show "Farm and Fun Time." They performed on this show on and off for 12 years. Columbia was the first record company to hire them, but they later signed on with King Records. The group performed from 1946 to 1966.

The movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" gave the people not accustomed to hearing bluegrass music a taste of the Ralph Stanley style. In the movie, he performed the song "O Death."

After the premature death of his brother Carter in 1966, Stanley decided to revive the Clinch Mountain Boys. Some of the singers in the group were Larry Sparks, Roy Lee Centers, and Charlie Sizemore. Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs also performed with the group. Some of their albums include "Clinch Mountain Gospel," "A Distant Land to Roam," and "Mountain Preacher's Child."

Anyone who is a fan of bluegrass music will surely agree that Ralph Stanley is a pioneer. Although Bill Monroe was the father of bluegrass, Ralph Stanley remains a favorite of his loyal fans.