Bluegrass music patriarch Ralph Stanley dies at 89

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ralph Stanley, a patriarch of Appalachian music who with his brother Carter helped expand and popularize the genre that became known as bluegrass, has died. He was 89.
Stanley died Thursday at his home in Sandy Ridge, Virginia, because of difficulties from skin cancer, publicist Kirt Webster said.
Although he influenced generations of musicians throughout his long career, Stanley brought his old-time mountain music into a new century when he was featured in the soun