Fresh Air, Ralph Stanley and Robert Gordon

By: Terry Gross

Narrated by: Terry Gross

Pioneering Bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley and music journalist and filmmaker Robert Gordon on this encore edition of Fresh Air. Ralph Stanley's high-lonesome vocals and claw-hammer banjo picking are considered cornerstones of American bluegrass music. He and his older brother Carter were the Stanley Brothers until Carter's death in 1966. Recently Stanley came to wider popular acclaim when his music was featured on the triple platinum soundtrack of the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? He won two Grammys this year for his performance of "O Death" on the O Brother soundtrack. Robert Gordon's written a new biography of blues legend Muddy Waters who is credited with inventing electric blues and creating the template for the rock and roll band. The book is Can t Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters. Gordon also produced and directed an accompanying documentary of the same name that will be shown as part of the PBS American Masters series next year. (Original Broadcast Dates: July 15, 2002 and October 3, 2002)Want more Fresh Air?

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