11/29/2005 Dear All:
I wish we could all be as nice & tolerant as most of us are here. IF we can all just remember that this website is about Stanley music, Ralph & his bunch of great musicians, and so many others who do so much to promote music and work so hard to ensure that we can continue to hear it all the time we all have much to share with one another here. Buddy, you're one of our voices of reason here along with several others, thanks! Vietnam has already taken enough from us all, don't you think? We can't go back and redo that terrible mistake that cost us the lives of so many, many of our brightest & best. It's a good thing I'm not head of the world, folks. I'd probably get fired the first day I was head of this country! I think the first thing I'd do is try to figure out why none of the people we elect & send to represent us EVER votes the way we want them to AFTER they get up to Washington-that'd probably take me the rest of my born days, huh? IF we could just figure out what happens to elected officials between the campaign promises & their VOTES on issues, I think we could probably cure all the ills of the world! I'm all for making every vote on every issue public so we can figure out how someone who's FOR something while campaigning turns around & votes AGAINST that something 22 times the first year he/she is in office. What I am absolutely amazed at is that just in the last week or so my respect for the people participating here has absolutely GROWN by leaps & bounds. We've had discussion-even if we don't agree about everything, we all agree we love Ralph & his band & this music-and lots of people have participated and given input. I've read messages here from a gentleman from England who is actually getting a masters' degree in music & loves bluegrass-HOW GREAT IS THAT, GUYS? Even if we don't agree with everything everyone here says or does, I'm very proud to know that folks from so far away, from so many walks of life love this music. And other folks are stepping right up to the plate, introducing themselves-I was so impressed with the gentleman who writes poetry. Most great songwriters are GREAT poets, sir, right on there! That's what made Daddy & Ralph get in music & stay there through all the hard, lean years when it was hard to buy gas to get to the next show & hard to feed all us kids at home. Somehow, wise as they were, they knew this music would grow and prosper and the following would be as huge as it is now someday. They used to play personal appearances where there'd be 25 people, tops, in the audience to listen. Daddy put on a show just as good as if there were 25,000 PEOPLE sitting out there-they played & sang their heart out, and were so thankful for people just like you all here who kept on coming out to hear them and buy records and kept talking & discussing their music. I know for a fact that BOTH Ralph & my Daddy hope every one of you keeps discussing their music, keeps talking about it, & keeps loving music forever. Both Stanley Brothers recognize that there are a number of very good performers and they promoted other musical performers all the time. Ralph has said many times he sees some of the younger performers in this type music who are coming up now & thinks when he's gone it'll be in pretty good hands. I couldn't agree more. To the individual who has asked if there are others who raise the hairs on the back of your neck like Daddy & Ralph-NO! Let me quote my Daddy to answer that. When he introduced the band members, he'd often say, "My name is Carter Stanley & this is my brother Ralph and we're the Stanley Brothers and these other boys here making such good music are the Clinch Mountain Boys. We're the REAL thing, folks, the Stanley Brothers-often imitated but never duplicated!" Of course, I'm biased, prejudiced, etc, so perhaps someone else should also answer this one? However, also to this person, there are many, many fine performers who are carrying on the tradition of bluegrass, gospel & "mountain" type music. The people on THIS very website have an absolute TREASURE CHEST of knowledge, information, experiences & can tell you about MOST of them. I never cease to be amazed at the things you all KNOW & discuss here. I know many of you can give this gentleman names of GREAT bluegrass performers-Rhonda Vincent, Larry Sparks, Jim & the Virginia Boys, Ricky Skaggs, Dolly Parton is singing a LOT of bluegrass these days, Josh Graves, Allison Krauss & Union Station, James King, Ralph Stanley II-watch out for that name, my prediction is you'll be hearing it LOTS in the future, The Lewis Family, and on and on and on....You all help out here, you folks know more than I ever will about the good ones and the better ones & then the best performers around now. If anyone listened to the "Country Music Association" awards show Nov. 15, is it just me, and the fact that I only saw the last 65 minutes of the broadcast here over Knoxville's tv station, but was everyone on there signing SACRED songs or WHAT? The last 3 or 4 numbers (not Dolly Parton & Elton John's version of Imagine) were ALL gospel, sacred songs. When I hear that, knowing how far "country" music has strayed from its roots at times, it makes me think there's hope for this civilization after all. Seeing so many people participate here who have so much to give one another & know so very much about this field impresses the heck out of me! I'm not nearly as good at this as Renee & Willie, but pass the CAFFEINATED decaf, give me a handkerchief, giggle, & can somebody tell me what is a "Digest", please? I never heard of such a thing to do with a website, but it must be okay because somebody here wants to get one & asked about it. What it is? Keep loving bluegrass & gospel music, it's the very best music in the world! Cordially your friend, Doris S. Bradley Quoting Buddy Woodward <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: " " " " > Joan Baez? I wouldn't give her the time of day after her " " > Vietnam protest. Please don't send me this junk. " " " " Well obviously that didn't bother Ralph when he invited her to appear on " " Clinch Mountain Sweethearts (& of course history has subsequently turned " " out " " to prove the war protesters were on the correct side of the argument). " " " " Most civilized people of differing viewpoints can "agree to disagree" " " without getting contentious, disparaging each other's character or calling " " each other names. " " " " I'm beginning to suspect that concept is lost on more than a few of the " " folks here... " " " " bw " " " " ****************************************************************** " " BUDDY WOODWARD - [EMAIL PROTECTED] " " - - - - - - " " BUDDY WOODWARD & THE NITRO EXPRESS " " http://www.buddywoodward.net " " - - - - - - " " THE DIXIE BEE LINERS - bluegrass with a buzz " " http://www.dixiebeeliners.com " " ****************************************************************** " " " " " " " " Bluegrass Bulletin Board brought to you by the fan club of " " Dr Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys " " subscribe or unsubscribe at http://drralphstanley.com/ " " Bluegrass Bulletin Board brought to you by the fan club of Dr Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys subscribe or unsubscribe at http://drralphstanley.com/
