The Bluegrass of King, The King of Bluegrass

Bill Monroe is widely recognized as the Father of Bluegrass, and so, in that context, perhaps we can consider Ralph Stanley as the genre's kindly Uncle ... the guy who teaches us about life and ourselves without inflicting the unflinching discipline and judgmental subjectivity of our old man. But the fact remains that the king is dead and the throne can't remain empty, the crown unworn. Perhaps it's time to coronate a new King of Bluegrass, and if so the only true heir is Dr. Ralph Stanley.