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© 2004 Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center
Site Design by Thirty-One Ten
Flash Banjo © 2003 Kim Carroll, Thirty-One Ten

A member of
VAM
Virginia Association of Museums
A venue of
Try your hand at pickin' on the banjo at the top of this page!
A look inside the museum
Multi-Purpose Gallery

The Multi-Purpose Gallery (known to staff as the Church Room) is dedicated to informing visitors about Ralph Stanley. An eight-minute film is played here that describes Dr. Stanley’s early beginnings and his career that has spanned several decades. This room also has a changing exhibit space.

Featured Exhibit: Ralph, Mountain Music and Hollywood. Particular emphasis on Dr. Stanley’s participation in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

Mountain Roots 1927-1945

This exhibit area reflects on Ralph and Carter’s childhood and the influences that contributed to their exposure of mountain music. Focus is given to their family, the location where they were raised and the musicians that they listened to during their early years.

The Stanley Brothers
1946-1966

This room discusses the beginning of The Stanley Brothers and how media such as radio and television played a great part in their popularity.

The exhibit also explains the growth of Bluegrass and Country Music reaching the masses and how the folk craze of the 1960’s revived the popularity of traditional country music.

The exhibit concludes with a memorial to the death of Carter Stanley; which ended the career of The Stanley Brothers.

Ralph Stanley and the
Clinch Mountain Boys
1967- Present

After the death of his brother, Ralph reverted back to his mountain roots and began his solo career with the Clinch Mountain Boys.

Although the line up has changed over the years, Dr. Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys are still going strong. This exhibit room is dedicated to this part of Dr. Stanley’s career with artifacts from him and his band members, past & present.