Mick Hartley

Some righteous bluegrass from the Stanley Brothers, with Reno and Smiley:

From the late Fifties/early Sixties. The Stanley Brothers were on their way to becoming the best-known bluegrass duo of them all, at least until Carter (guitar) drank himself to death in 1966. (Ralph's still going strong.) Reno and Smiley were big names at the time – best known perhaps for I'm Using my Bible for a Roadmap – but they seem to have got lost somewhere along the way, reputation-wise.

I posted the Stanley Brothers' Rank Strangers - that classic tale of Country alienation - here. From the same period, In the Pines: that high lonesome sound. More upbeat: How Mountain Gals can Love.

Also, from the comments on a Metafilter post on the Stanleys, there's this fabulous clip from the 1964 film Bluegrass Roots: On The Road With Bluegrass Musicians. Clog dancing from the North Carolina mountains: inspiring stuff, and wonderfully filmed (you can catch a glimpse of the cameraman a couple of times in the mirror).