RELEASES NEW RALPH STANLEY PROJECT
Ralph Stanley cemented his place as an American music legend. His
iconic voice became the voice of the mountains, and the last fifteen
years of his life and career proved to be a celebration of this, with
Grammy Awards, all-star collaborations, and induction into the Grand Ole
Opry. In a unique piece of musical history, the legacy of Ralph Stanley
can be witnessed for posterity’s sake with the release of Ralph Stanley: Live At The Bottom Line, available now at all physical and digital retailers. The release is distributed exclusively by BFD through RED distribution.
The live set, recorded at the legendary New York City nightspot on
June 12, 2002, features many of Stanley’s signature songs, including
“Man of Constant Sorrow,” “Pretty Polly,” and “O Death,” which opens the
set. For such a prestigious performance, Stanley carried nothing but
the best line-up of musicians with him, with Stuart Duncan (violin),
Mike Compton (mandolin), James Shelton (guitar), Dennis Crouch (bass)
all lending their award-winning talents to the night’s performance.
The evening marked the only time that Stanley played the venue, but
the singer was one of many Country / Bluegrass to showcase their talents
at the Big Apple hotspot, with others including Dolly Parton, Waylon
Jennings, Doc Watson, and Emmylou Harris.
The album’s executive producers are Allan Pepper & Stanley
Snadowsky, and Bob Frank. Pepper, who was co-founder of The Bottom Line
with Snadowsky, remains mindful of the impact a performance there had on
the musical world.
“You could get the New York Times, and Rolling Stone, and The Daily News, and The New York Post,
all covering your gig,” he states. “And the record companies would get
celebrities to come to the shows, so suddenly you see Andy Warhol coming
to see Dolly Parton, and there’s a picture and a big story about that.
There was a buzz factor that played heavily into building this scene
nationally. An artist could be on a morning or an evening news show, and
could even do a live radio broadcast. In that way, New York was pretty
big for the country music scene. Plus at our place, you could sit, and
it was comfortable and intimate, and that was very important for getting
the fans and press to come out. It was all part of the star-making
machinery.”
Ralph Stanley: Live At The Bottom Line is the first album released
featuring the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor inductee since
his passing in June 2016.
Live At The Bottom Line Track Listing:
01. O Death (2:20)
02. Band Introductions (1:17)
03. Girl from the Greenbriar Shore (3:36)
04. False-Hearted (5:11)
05. Henry Lee (4:38)
06. I’ll Remember You Love, In My Prayers (1:59)
07. Lift Him Up (5:16)
08. Wild Bill Jones (2:26)
09. Hemlocks & Primroses (3:26)
10. Look On and Cry (3:53)
11. Calling You (3:56)
12. Pretty Polly (4:10)
13. Great High Mountain (4:43)
14. Man of Constant Sorrow (4:24)
15. Amazing Grace (4:15)
About Bob Frank Distribution:
BFD was formed in 2013 as the distribution arm of BFE (Bob Frank
Entertainment). BFD is a boutique audio and audio–visual distributor
with sub-distribution arrangements with Sony / RED Distribution in North
America, Essential Music in Europe and The Orchard throughout the
world. BFD currently distributes over 30 companies with thousands of
masters including Magna Carta, Blixstreet, Tesla, DPTV, Big Deal
Records, Synergy Records, Virtual Label Group, A-Train Entertainment,
The Atlantic Screen Group (Filmtrax), REMT, UFO as well as artist owned
labels and catalogs such as Dale Watson, Dave Davies, Don Williams,
Renaissance and Charlie Daniels.