Fans of bluegrass music are mourning the loss of Ralph Stanley, the musician from Virginia who stayed loyal to the genre throughout his life.
A day after his death, fans from all over the country have been requested his music at WDVX FM 89.9 in downtown Knoxville.
Radio Personality "Red" Hickey says there will never be anyone like Ralph Stanley.
"Ralph Stanley was one of the original pioneers of this genre known as bluegrass music," said Hickey. "He stayed active in e bluegrass music scene even the times when you couldn't make a living in the bluegrass world."
WDVX employee and fellow musician Daniel Kimbro agrees.
"When you hear Ralph Stanley you hear Appalachia," said Kimbro. "You hear Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. You hear coal mining."
Stanley's music was popular with bluegrass for years. His music gained a whole new audience in 2000 thanks to the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The movie introduced fans to one of his greatest recordings, Man of Constant Sorrow.
"Even if you didn't know what bluegrass music was you heard that song over and over," said Hickey. That movie brought bluegrass back to being cool again."
He won a Grammy in 2002 for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his recording of "O Death" on the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. He won a second Grammy for a bluegrass album recorded with Jim Lauderdale called Lost in the Lonesome Pines.
At WDVX FM, folks have been remembering Stanley for his great talent and humble spirit.
"His music attaches me to a very special time in my life," said Daniel Kimbro. "It's something that was like 'I don't know how that man sounds like that, but I want to hear more of it all the time."
You can listen to WDVX on 89.9 FM or online at wdvx.com