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.
Ralph Stanley performs at Stagecoach, California’s Country Music Festival held at the Empire Polo Field on May 4, 2008 in Indio, California. (Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images)
Stanley died Thursday at his home in Sandy Ridge, Virginia, because of difficulties from skin cancer, publicist Kirt We