MARTY RAYBON (AND FULL CIRCLE)
- From Tuscumbia, Alabama.
- Best known as the lead singer for the successful country band Shenandoah (1984-1997).
- 1991, won ACM Vocal Group of the Year Award and had numerous CMA and Grammy nominations.
- 1975, began his musical career in Florida performing in a family band called American Bluegrass Express with his brother Tim, winning the Florida State Bluegrass Championship five years in a row. Their father Buck played fiddle.
- 1984, moved to Nashville to pursue career in country music. Formed Shenandoah the next year in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
- Had eleven #1 hits, including “Ghost in this House,” “Next to Me, Next to You,” “I Want to Loved Like That,”
- 1996, won Grammy for his duet with Alison Krauss “Somewhere in the Vicinity of My Heart.”
- 1997, left Shenandoah to record with his brother Tim as the Raybon Brothers. They had a hit with “Butterfly Kisses.”
- 1998, began a solo career as a gospel singer and evangelist.
- 1998, sang on Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Country
album.
- 2002, returned to his bluegrass roots with album Full Circle and formed a bluegrass band with the same name.
- 2013, won IBMA award for Gospel Recording of the Year (for “Beulah Land”).
- 2014, began performing again with Shenandoah.
RECOMMENDED ALBUMS:
- Full Circle
(Doobie Shea, 2003) Marty’s return to bluegrass music!
- ‘The Gospel in Black and White
(Synchoro, 2004)
- This That & the Other
(Synchoro, 2009)
- Southern Roots & Branches: Yesterday & Today
(Rural Rhythm, 2012) Features the best from his debut “Full Circle” album (“Next to You, Next to Me,” “Ghost in This House,” etc.) plus several new tracks.
- Hand to the Plow
(Rural Rhythm, 2012) An all-gospel album. Includes “Beulah Land” (IBMA Award-winner).
- The Back Forty
(Rural Rhythm, 2013)