July 18: Ricky Skaggs was born in 1954
I can’t control the wind but I can adjust the sail.
~Ricky SkaggsI hate negative songs; I won’t sing them. It doesn’t matter if it’s sold 2 million more albums.
~Ricky SkaggsRicky Skaggs has often said that he is “just trying to make a living” playing the music he loves. But it’s clear that his passion for it puts him in the position to bring his lively, distinctively American form of music out of isolation and into the ears and hearts of audiences across the country and around the world. Ricky Skaggs is always forging ahead with cross-cultural, genre-bending musical ideas and inspirations.
~Bio (rickyskaggs.com)
Get Up John:
“Bluegrass Breakdown” Live at the Grand Ole Opry:
From Wikipedia:
| Birth name | Richard Lee Skaggs |
|---|---|
| Born | July 18, 1954 (age 61) Cordell, Kentucky |
| Genres | Country, bluegrass, gospel, folk |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, session musician, bandleader, producer, arranger |
| Instruments | singer, mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle |
| Years active | 1960s-present |
| Labels | Sugar Hill, Epic, Rounder, DCC, Atlantic, Camden, Rebel, Hollywood, Legacy, Skaggs Family |
| Associated acts | Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, J. D. Crowe and New South, Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band, The Whites, Kentucky Thunder, Bruce Hornsby |
| Website | http://www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com/ |
Richard 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, mandocaster and banjo.
| By the time he was in his mid-thirties, Kentuckian Ricky Skaggs had already produced a career’s worth of music. At age seven he appeared on TV with Flatt & Scruggs; at 15 he was a member of legendary Ralph Stanley’s bluegrass band (with fellow teenager Keith Whitley). None of his ’80s peers, male or female, had better musical credentials than Skaggs. The term “multi-talented” lacks the power to characterize this extraordinary singer and instrumentalist. Not only can he sing and pick with the best in progressive country, his broad and deep experience in traditional music separates him from the crowd. In the estimation of many, he is without peer as a combination vocalist and instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo). ~David Vinopal (allmusic.com) |
Ricky Skaggs, Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson perform together in concert taped in December 2002 at the R.J. Reynolds Auditorium in Winston-Salem, NC – Who Will Sing For Me:
Awards:
Grammy Awards
- 1983 Best Country Instrumental Performance: New South (J.D. Crowe, Jerry Douglas, Todd Phillips, Tony Rice, 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 Wariner & Vince Gill for Restless
- 1999 Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for Bluegrass Rules!
- 1998 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals: Clint Black, Joe Diffie, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt & Dwight Yoakam 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 Whites for Salt Of The Earth
- 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 White
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Ricky Skaggs Live in Columbus, OH 1984 (13 Songs)
1) Intro / Low And Lonely
2) Sweet Temptation @ 3:13
3) Heartbroke @ 7:40
4) Lost To A Stranger @ 11:18
5) Don’t Cheat In Our Hometown @ 14:31
6) Honey (Open That Door) (with children) @ 22:07
7) Talk About Suffering @ 30:48
8) Sally Goodin’ (with Hobert Skaggs) @ 34:54
9) Chicken Reel (with Hobert) @39:12
10) Highway 40 Blues @ 43:11
11) Crying My Heart Out Over You @ 48:31
12) Uncle Pen @ 52:34
13) I’m Ready To Go (Encore) @ 59:10
-Egil & Hallgeir