This is Page Two of a discography of country/bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs. This page looks at Skaggs' entry into the world of Top Forty country in the early 1980s, and his reentry into bluegrass in the '90s, where he established himself as one of the genre's leading elder artists. Also included here are some of his special projects and related web links. For a look at his early career, see Page One of this discography, which reviews his records made before he went solo.
Ricky Skaggs "Waiting For The Sun To Shine" (Columbia, 1981)
Ricky Skaggs "Sweet Temptation" (Sugar Hill, 1982)
Beautiful! Probably my favorite of Ricky's albums!! A pure delight for fans of melodically-oriented, poppy bluegrass. Skaggs dips back into traditional sources, but also takes his cues from pop-conscious performers such as Merle Travis (who provided the title track) and Jimmy Martin, who brought a bluesy country vibe to his work that is clearly echoed on here. This is a really enjoyable album, and lots of fun to sing along with.
Ricky Skaggs "Family & Friends" (Rounder, 1982)
When Ricky gets back to his roots, he can be oh-so sweet. This was his big "hey-I've-still-got-it" traditionalist bluegrass album, made when he first was having success as a Top 40 country act. If you want to be snooty, you could find fault with its smooth production, but overall this is solid and fun to listen to. Includes several great bluegrass oldies, and the usual cast of high-power newgrass pickers and plunkers. Sweet!
Ricky Skaggs "Highways And Heartaches" (Columbia, 1982)
Ricky Skaggs "Don't Cheat In Our Hometown" (Columbia, 1983)
Ricky Skaggs "Country Boy" (Columbia, 1984)
Ricky Skaggs "Favorite Country Songs" (Columbia, 1985)
Ricky Skaggs "Live In London" (Columbia, 1985)
Ricky Skaggs "Love's Gonna Get Ya!" (Columbia, 1986)
Ricky Skaggs "Uncle Pen" (Columbia, 1986)
Ricky Skaggs "Comin' Home To Stay" (Columbia, 1987)
Ricky Skaggs "Kentucky Thunder" (Columbia, 1989)
(Produced by Steve Buckingham & Ricky Skaggs)
Closing out the decade's run as a commercial country star, Ricky's kind of going through the motions, but still singing from the heart and keeping it real. This disc didn't really speak much to me -- the music seems a little forced, though you can tell there's still a lot of sincerity behind the performance. One thing that's noteworthy is that about half the songs (including the title track) were written by Music Row songsmith and erstwhile bluegrasser, Larry Cordle, who's kind of a cult favorite for a lot of folks. Although this is where he got the name for his bluegrass outfit, the future members of Kentucky Thunder don't play on here, it's mostly Nashville studio cats and bluegrass usual suspects like Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck and Bobby Hicks, as well as hotshot guitarist Albert Lee, who contributes his share of driving, note-heavy leads. The second half of the album tilts towards Ricky's incresing interest in evangelical Christianity, and closes with a heartfelt gospel original, "Saviour, Saved Me From Myself," written by Larry Cordle and J. Rushing.
Ricky Skaggs "My Father's Son" (Columbia, 1989)
Ricky Skaggs "Portrait" (Columbia, 1991)
Ricky Skaggs "Solid Ground" (Columbia, 1995)
Ricky Skaggs "Life Is A Journey" (Columbia, 1997)
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder "Bluegrass Rules!" (Rounder, 1997)
Despite the dorky album title, Ricky's big, back-to-basics bluegrass album is an impressive set, especially for a fella who'd travelled so far into the maw of Nashville Top 40. This straightforward, solid set of traditional tunes and standards draws onthe classic canon of Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers and their era. A more cynical reading is that this is Skaggs' bid to reassert himself as a leading contender for the mantle of truegrass elder, following the passing of Bill Monroe in the fall of '96... No matter, though: this album stands up to the test of time; stylistically, it's real deal, solid stuff from beginning to end. Still, there is a mildly too-perfect feel to the performances, and I can't really see myself wanting come back to this album when there are so many other, less slick, more heartfelt albums out there to listen to. Fiddler Bobby Hicks anchors the band; the banjoist in this edition of the band is Mark Pruett, later to be replaced by the magnificent Jim Mills.
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder "Ancient Tones" (Skaggs Family, 1999)
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder "Soldier Of The Cross" (Skaggs Family, 1999)
A born-again, all-gospel album that is often a bit on the overwritten and sluggish side. New songs such as "Joshua Generation" and "Seven Hillside" are full-scale disasters of overly-flowery poeticism, with a somewhat show-offy Skaggs trying to stand above the common Southern Gospel crowd. Still, his more straightforward versions of older, more traditional tunes sound alright... all except for an otherwise sterling cover of the Louvin Brothers' "Are You Afraid To Die," which regrettably has a passage from a Billy Graham sermon tacked on at the start. Still... when else will you get the chance to come across an album dedicated to 16th Century Crusaders such as a the Knights of Malta? I think Ricky may have gotten a little carried away on the scripture-packed liner notes, but I suppose that's his perogative. This is a fine album for the territory; the first release, I believe, on Skaggs's own independent label.
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder "Live At The Charleston Music Hall" (Skaggs Family, 2003)
Yeah! Now, this is the stripped-down, no-frills truegrass album fans have been waiting for Ricky to make for years, thankfully shorn of the musical sweeteners he's been mixing into his recent albums. Jim Mills, Bobby Hicks and the rest of his all-star super-troupe keep things pretty traditional on this fine live album. Lots of new material, as well as some swell oldies, a dash of Celtic material (including a bit of button accordion work!) plenty of hot picking, and some sweet gospel singing as well. Nice chance to hear Ricky work the crowd, with his polished, aw-heck, just-plain-folks persona, passed down from decades of work with old-timers such as Ralph Stanley and other truegrass mentors. Good album... definitely Skaggs at his simplest and best.
Doc Watson/Ricky Skaggs/Earl Scruggs "The Three Pickers" (DVD) (Rounder, 2003)
Riffing on the whole "Three Tenors" opera phenomenon, three bluegrass master musicians join forces for a warm, friendly session, originally filmed for broadcast on public television. The congratulatory back-slapping wears a bit thin ("You're the greatest, Doc!" "No, you are, Ricky!"), but the music is top-notch. When Skaggs sings, Watson picks or Scruggs does one of those amazing banjo rolls, it's simple perfection in action. The current queen of bluegrass, Alison Krauss, sings along on a trio of tunes, and musicians drawn from the cream of the truegrass pickers -- including Skagg's band, Kentucky Thunder -- back them up on most tunes. Both Watson and Scruggs are still amazingly deft and soulful at their art, even though Skaggs kind of dominates at times.
Ricky Skaggs "Brand New Strings" (Skaggs Family, 2004)
In his ongoing bid to become the sanctified standardbearer of bluegrass as a commercial, pop cultural force, Ricky Skaggs runs the risk of overperfecting his craft and overselling his wares. Indeed, you could argue that he's already done that to a certain extent on previous albums, and his heightened emphasis on his born-again, evangelical Christianity -- while admirably sincere -- may also leave more than a few truegrass fans feeling a little snubbed and lectured-to. It might be nice to hear him just get back to the music and leave all our spiritual lives out of the picture, thank you very much. That being said, this is a mighty fine album... The first few tracks are misleading: the too-slick performances of "Sally Jo" and "Sis Draper" are showmanlike and contrived, while naming an instrumental track after a passage in Corinthians is a bit tedious. But then, as Ricky and Kentucky Thunder get all settled in and stop being so gosh-darn professional-sounding, they manage to lay some world-class, kickass bluegrass on us. Even the most disaffected old fan among us should smile with delight at snappy breakdowns such as "Monroe Dancin' " and the crisp, electrifying version of "Appalachian Joy," and even at some of the preachier love-thy-neighbor gospel towards the end. Ricky redeems himself once again, and lets his mandolin do most of the talking for him. A strong album that certainly deserves a few good listens.
Ricky Skaggs "A Skaggs Family Christmas" (Skaggs Family, 2005)
Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby "Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby" (Sony-BMG Legacy, 2007)
Well, there's a couple of ways this could have gone... It could have been popster Hornsby going overboard with the kooky, fake, twang-isms, or an excuse for bluegrass partiarch Ricky Skaggs to indulge in some misguided, cheesoid pop venture... Fortunately, neither of these disasterous possibilities came true: instead, we have a relatively potent, substantive alt-country album, with Skaggs and his band adding the acoustic firepower and Horsby writing and singing most of the songs. It's mostly Hornsby's show -- his piano is in the mix, but only sparingly; mostly it seems he just wanted to do a country thang, and mostly it works pretty well. Indeed, he sounds almost eerily like ex-Bad Liver leader Danny Barnes, who has crafted some interesting, twangy genre-benders of his own recently... The material's a bit dense for my tastes -- I like good, dumb, easily memorable choruses -- but both Ricky and Bruce acquit themselves well. If you're on the Americana hayride to begin with, you oughtta check this one out.
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder "Instrumentals" (Skaggs Family, 2007)
Ricky Skaggs & The Whites "Salt Of The Earth" (Skaggs Family, 2007)
(Produced by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites)
An awesome, heartfelt country-bluegrass gospel album, featuring Ricky Skaggs and his adoptive family, wife Sharon White and her sister Cheryl, and father Buck White. The White Family has been a singular presence in the American roots scene -- a acoustic-based family band that was an echo of country music's early roots, in the 1970s the band worked in the folk and folk festival circuit, but made an unlikely jump into Nashville and country radio in the early '80s, where they enjoyed moderate success for a few years before scaling back to their more humble roots. There is something special about the group's relationship to Skaggs -- I think in many ways they are his touchstone to tradition, and they always bring out some of his finest harmony-based work. This is a sublime gospel set, with several standards from the likes of Fanny Crosby's "Near The Cross" and "Blessed Assurance", as well as more modern songs such as Janis Ian's "Love Will Be Enough," and the title track by Jim Rushing, "Salt Of The Earth". Fans of harmony vocals will be delighted by this album, which has the feel of a classic - and fans of the Whites will be happy to hear them back in action, still sounding as sweet as ever. Worth checking out!
Ricky Skaggs "Honoring The Fathers Of Bluegrass: Tribute To 1946 And 1947" (Skaggs Family, 2008)
Ricky Skaggs "The High Notes" (Cracker Barrel, 2008)
(Produced by Ricky Skaggs)
In the early 1980s, bluegrass prodigy Ricky Skaggs went from being a featured member of the Emmylou Harris band into a radiant (and slightly improbable) solo career as a tradition-oriented Top 40 country star. His chart-topping success was improbable because, unlike other "neo-trad" country stars, he wasn't tapping into beer-drinking honkytonk, but rather into the sweeter, more sentimental "heart song" tradition, of sappy, heartfelt romantic ballads, a plainspoken style that had been almost entirely left behind in the plush sophistication of the '70s countrypolitan era. Skaggs enjoyed tremendous success with the style, and his bright-eyed devotion to the sincerity and conventions of the genre won over countless fans, giving the country charts a healthy dose of respect for the past. Eventually he went back into the bluegrass demimonde where, with the elders of genre passing away one by one, he became an "elder statesman" himself, one of the closest in line to pick up the mantle when the style's founders had all gone to meet their maker. Here, Skaggs brings the various strands of his career together, re-recording some of his biggest hits in a sparser acoustic setting, for an exclusive release on the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain's private label. Since part of Top 40 career included covering bluegrass tunes and giving them a slight pop twist (as on his version of Bill Monroe's "Uncle Pen"), it's not such a big stretch to turn that formula on its head and remake a few of his country tunes in a "bluegrass" style. Although one of the wonderful things about his '80s hits was that thin, youthful voice of his -- so full of hope and earnest dedication to his craft -- is now lost to middle-age, these are still wonderful songs and he delivers them with a comfortable, reassuring demeanor. A couple of songs that stand out from the pack are his version of Harry Chapin's "Cat's In The Cradle," and a tinkly-piano gospel tune about God's angels watching down on us all, which veers away from the bluegrassy vibe into the world of Southern Gospel (which isn't surprising, given Skaggs's longstanding evangelical fervor...) Fans may want to pull off the Interstate, grab a little chicken-fried steak, and pick up this disc for the drive home: it's a nice addition to the Ricky Skaggs discography. (For more info, check out the Cracker Barrel website.)
Ricky Skaggs "Ricky Skaggs Solo: Songs My Dad Loved" (Skaggs Family, 2009)
(Produced by Ricky Skaggs)
Through the miracles of modern recording technology, newgrass elder Ricky Skaggs pays tribute to his father and the music of his youth on a Skaggs-a-centric outing in which he plays all the instruments -- fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, piano, bass, and percussion -- and even sings harmony with himself on a track or two. The album is packed with twangy old tunes -- a few are well-known, like "Little Maggie," but Skaggs also digs deep into the mountain music repertoire for tunes that are more off the beaten track, and sound sweeter for their "newness." There are, of course, several gospel songs infused with Skaggs' gentle apocalyptic fervor, including an innovative, Indian raga-inspired arrangement of "City That Lies Foursquare," where a table-like rhythm kicks in at the start. Although it's nice to hear that spark between Skaggs and his band, this mega-solo outing is pretty nice, too... It certainly has a very personal feel, which is really the point, right? Fans will dig this one... I know I do!
Ricky Skaggs "Country Hits Bluegrass Style" (Skaggs Family, 2011)
(Produced by Ricky Skaggs)
It's not uncommon for bluegrass artists to cover country hits, although genre star Ricky Skaggs is in a unique position, recording a whole album of songs that he put on the charts himself in the 1980s, when he was one of the biggest Top 40 artists of the decade. In the '90s he went back to his first love and took up the mantle of a bluegrass elder, one of a handful of artists filling the gap left when Bill Monroe passed away. It's nice to hear his Nashville tunes again; there were a lot of really great songs: "You've Got A Lover," "Heartbroke," "Country Boy," his versions of Webb Pierce's "I Don't Care" and Monroe's classic "Uncle Pen." Interestingly, these rerecorded versions don't differ all that much from a few decades back, since Skaggs had already perfected his blend of acoustic intimacy and catchy Nashville bounce. It was a great sound back then, and is still sweet and joyful today, mixing fiddle, banjo and mandolin with steel guitars and a steady, thumping rhythm section. It's wonderful stuff -- highly recommended! (Note: this record is largely a reissue of an album previously available through the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain; this version has a couple of tracks that are different.)
Ricky Skaggs "A Skaggs Family Christmas, v.2" (Skaggs Family, 2011)
(Produced by Billy Paul Jones & Charlotte Scott)
One of the preeminent contemporary bluegrass stars, born-again bandleader Ricky Skaggs has also has impressive bona fides as a Christian musician, and mixes several religious music styles on this joyful live holiday album. There are straightforward holiday standards, such as the album's bouncy, bluegrassy opener, "Christmas Time's A-Coming," alongside tracks that dig deeper into Biblical teachings and church-ier Southern Gospel arrangements. Skaggs' extended family is on board, including his wife's family band, The Whites, with sisters Sharon and Cheryl and papa Buck White, as well as the new generation, Ricky and Sharon's kids Luke and Molly, as well as Cheryl's daughter Rachel Leftwich (who is apparently married to Andy Leftwich, the fiddler in Ricky's band Kentucky Thunder. You catch all that? I know family ties can get confusing... I can go over it again if you'd like...) Anyway, this is a rock-solid record, with a solid foundation in the not-too-dour bedrock fundamentalism of the Skaggs Family clan, but also some lighter holiday fare for folks who like to sing along. Also included is a second disc, a bonus DVD with the entire concert, about three times as much music as the audio disc, and a nice chance to see not just Skaggs in action, but the often-neglected Whites as well. Happy holidays!
Ricky Skaggs "Super Hits" (Columbia, 1993)
A 10-song best-of, covering Skagg's first ten years as a commercial country stars.
Ricky Skaggs "Country Gentleman: The Best Of Ricky Skaggs" (Sony, 1997)
A superior 2-CD set that includes 32 of Ricky's best tunes from his Nashville country years. Recommended!
Ricky Skaggs "16 Biggest Hits" (Sony, 2000)
And this one has, um... sixteen songs! And less glamorous packaging.
Ricky Skaggs "The Essential Ricky Skaggs" (Columbia, 2003)
It's really remarkable to listen back and hear just how sweet Ricky's work was in his Top 40 years, and how strong and tasteful his song selection remained. While the 2-CD Country Gentleman collection has more material, this crisp 14-song best-of is more compact and is nicely sequenced to highlight Skaggs' sweeter side. Includes not one, but two covers of old Webb Pierce tunes, as well as all the big, early hits. A nice, concise reading of his best work.
Country Gentlemen "...Featuring Ricky Skaggs On Fiddle" (Vanguard, 1980)
A best-of collection that documents the early '70s Country Gentlemen lineup, which included Ricky Skaggs as well as Doyle Lawson and Bill Emerson.
Ricky Skaggs "Best Of The Sugar Hill Years" (Sugar Hill, 2008)
A sweet, beautiful, harmony-drenched collection of Ricky Skaggs' traditionally-oriented early solo work, recorded in tandem with his budding career as a latter-day Top Forty heartsong crooner. Although he recorded some fine updates of old country tunes, this set concentrates on his bluegrassier material, and from that material, there's an additional emphasis on the gospel music that he later made his cause while leading the Kentucky Thunder band. It's all great stuff -- for many fans, this is Skaggs' golden era, when his youthful zest was tempered with great talent and earnest dedication to tradition. Along for the ride are several longtime pals, including guitarist Tony Rice and dobroist Jerry Douglas, who was in the Boone Creek band with Skaggs (recording the first album that came out on the Sugar Hill label, back in 1978!) The set list includes several songs each from Ricky's awesome 1979 Sweet Temptation album and the equally inspired Skaggs & Rice duos album, from 1980: neither sampling will be enough for fans both new or old, but if you use this collection as a signpost to explore those albums as well, you'll be one happy camper. Rounding the set out are some fine odds'n'ends, such as a live duet with Skaggs' wife, Sharon White, taken from a 1988 concert album recorded in honor of the venerable Seldom Scene. This album might not precisely reflect the contours of Skaggs' career, but it sure has a lot of sweet music on it. Highly recommended.
Ricky Skaggs "The High Notes" (Cracker Barrel, 2008)
(Produced by Ricky Skaggs)
In the early 1980s, bluegrass prodigy Ricky Skaggs went from being a featured member of the Emmylou Harris band into a radiant (and slightly improbable) solo career as a tradition-oriented Top 40 country star. His chart-topping success was improbable because, unlike other "neo-trad" country stars, he wasn't tapping into beer-drinking honkytonk, but rather into the sweeter, more sentimental "heart song" tradition, of sappy, heartfelt romantic ballads, a plainspoken style that had been almost entirely left behind in the plush sophistication of the '70s countrypolitan era. Skaggs enjoyed tremendous success with the style, and his bright-eyed devotion to the sincerity and conventions of the genre won over countless fans, giving the country charts a healthy dose of respect for the past. Eventually he went back into the bluegrass demimonde where, with the elders of genre passing away one by one, he became an "elder statesman" himself, one of the closest in line to pick up the mantle when the style's founders had all gone to meet their maker. Here, Skaggs brings the various strands of his career together, re-recording some of his biggest hits in a sparser acoustic setting, for an exclusive release on the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain's private label. Since part of Top 40 career included covering bluegrass tunes and giving them a slight pop twist (as on his version of Bill Monroe's "Uncle Pen"), it's not such a big stretch to turn that formula on its head and remake a few of his country tunes in a "bluegrass" style. Although one of the wonderful things about his '80s hits was that thin, youthful voice of his -- so full of hope and earnest dedication to his craft -- is now lost to middle-age, these are still wonderful songs and he delivers them with a comfortable, reassuring demeanor. A couple of songs that stand out from the pack are his version of Harry Chapin's "Cat's In The Cradle," and a tinkly-piano gospel tune about God's angels watching down on us all, which veers away from the bluegrassy vibe into the world of Southern Gospel (which isn't surprising, given Skaggs's longstanding evangelical fervor...) Fans may want to pull off the Interstate, grab a little chicken-fried steak, and pick up this disc for the drive home: it's a nice addition to the Ricky Skaggs discography. (For more info, check out the Cracker Barrel website.)
Earl Scruggs/Doc Watson/Ricky Skaggs "The Three Pickers" (DVD) (Rounder, 2003)
Riffing on the whole "Three Tenors" opera phenomenon, three bluegrass master musicians join forces for a warm, friendly session, originally filmed for broadcast on public television. The congratulatory back-slapping ("You're the greatest, Doc!" "No, you are, Ricky!") ultimately wears thin, but the music is top-notch. When Skaggs sings, Watson picks or Scruggs does one of those amazing banjo rolls, it's perfection in action. Well filmed, with nice sound and plenty of great performances, this is a swell concert film... The current queen of bluegrass, Alison Krauss, sings along on a trio of tunes, and musicians drawn from the cream of the truegrass pickers -- including Skagg's band, Kentucky Thunder -- back them up on most tunes. Both Watson and Scruggs are still amazingly deft and soulful at their art, even though they are a bit slowed down from the days of their youth. A fine performance!
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder "Soldier Of The Cross - The Concert" (Skaggs Family, 2003)
It's possible that at this point in his life, bandleader Ricky Skaggs has done more to promote old-fashioned bluegrass gospel than practically anyone else alive, other than his old mentor, Dr. Ralph Stanley. This concert DVD captures Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder, in fine form, performing top-flight versions of many standards of the genre and several new tunes that he has contributed in recent years. The "high lonesome" vocal harmony tunes are the sublime, although the picking is pretty darn hot, as well. In addition to his various hotshot bandmembers -- multi-instrumentalists Jim Roll, Andy Leftwich, et al. -- Skaggs also plays host to several soulful guest performers, including his wife, Sharon White and her family, The Whites, who can throw on a mean harmony or two themselves, if they put their minds to it. The songs are interspersed with commentary by Ricky, about his faith, family and friends. In general, this material shouldn't too noxious to secular-minded bluegrass fans, since the performances themselves are both skillfully filmed and spine-tinglingy resonant. If you are of a resolutely agnostic or atheistic bent, though, then best to leave this one be... Ricky's born again envangelicism will probably get on your nerves. Anyone who likes Ricky on either his religious or musical merits, though, will love this: it's quite a nice concert!
Hick Music Index
Top photo by Erick Anderson, courtesy of Skaggs Family Records.
