A lot of people assume that bluegrass is a genre of music that has been around for centuries. In truth, it came to widespread attention in the middle 1940’s under the leadership of a Kentuckian named Bill Monroe.
One of the first musicians to come under the spell of Monroe’s music was a southwest Virginia native named Carter Stanley. Along with his brother Ralph and a group of musicians they dubbed The Clinch Mountain Boys, Carter fused the ageless sounds of the mountains with frenetic bluegrass rhythms to arrive at an immensely popular hybrid.
After Monroe, the Stanley Brothers were the second group to ever play bluegrass music. Carter Stanley was an integral part of the development and dissemination of bluegrass music to the masses.
Carter Stanley possessed one of the most emotion-laden voices in bluegrass. Bill Monroe cited him as one of the “best natural lead singers” he’d ever heard. An engaging and personable performer, Stanley had a keen ability to make his fans feel as though he was communicating directly to them. He played the music, he wrote the songs — and he self-destructed at the young age of 41, a casualty of too many years of alcohol abuse.
Although gone from the music scene for nearly 50 years, “A Life of Sorrow,” as performed by Gary Reid, affords today’s audiences a chance to “visit” once again with Carter Stanley as he recounts memories of childhood days on the family farm, his respect for the old-time musicians who influenced him, the roots of his music and songwriting, his adventures on the road with colorful entertainers, and his jealousies and insecurities.
The talent behind this solo theatrical performance is Gary Reid, a 40+ year veteran of bluegrass and old-time music, who started out as a fan and over the years worked as a researcher, musician, record producer, historian, owner of a recording company, and concert promoter. He has facilitated the production of over 400 bluegrass and old-time albums and CDs, written dozens of articles on the music, and countless booklet notes to CD releases. He is also a three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s award for Best Liner Notes.
In December of this year, the University of Illinois Press is slated to release his book The Music of the Stanley Brothers, a 39-year research project that documents the recording career of this seminal bluegrass group. Since 2009, Reid has been active in researching and putting together his one-man play about the life and times of bluegrass legend Carter Stanley. Titled “A Life of Sorrow,” Reid’s performance at South County Library represents one of the first public productions of the play.
A Life of Sorrow: The Life and Times of Carter Stanley will be presented at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 10 and at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 11 at South County Library. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, call (540) 772-7507 or visit www.yourlibrary.us.
