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The great Chet Atkins once credited Ricky Skaggs with “single-handedly saving country music.”
Atkins was talking about the early ’80s, when Ricky’s hot picking and traditional-sounding tunes took over the charts at a time when country had been sliding into pop-music styles.
Ricky definitely had the credentials for this role: He was already an accomplished singer and mandolin player by his teenage years in Eastern Kentucky. In fact, he showed signs of his eventual stardom in early guest spots with the likes of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs.
The child of a musical family, he entered the world of professional music with another future star, his friend Keith Whitley. Bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley took the young musicians under his wing in 1971. Stints with other top acts during the next decade—including J.D. Crowe, the Country Gentlemen, and Emmylou Harris—helped build Ricky’s reputation for creativity and musical drive. The 1975 debut LP of J.D. Crowe & the New South, with Ricky in a key role, has won credit as one of the most influential of bluegrass albums. Forming the band Boone Creek brought Ricky to center stage, where he’s remained since.
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