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Story, Carl

WR

CARL STORY

  • From Lenoir, North Carolina.
  • Formed the first version of his band “The Ramblin’ Mountaineers” in 1934.
  • Rose to prominence on radio station WHKY in Hickory, North Carolina.
  • Was a disk jockey in Greer, South Carolina.
  • 1942, worked for a year with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, playing fiddle. Left to join the Navy in 1943. After the war, he resumed playing with his own band.
  • 1947, made first commercial recordings.
  • 1957, his band became a full-blown bluegrass band with the Brewster Brothers providing the instrumentation.
  • Called “The Father of Bluegrass Gospel Music.”
  • Recorded more than 65 gospel albums, most of them on Starday Records.
  • 1958, his “Gospel Quartet Favorites” (Mercury Records) was the first bluegrass gospel album.
  • Specialized in a hard-core mountain style of bluegrass gospel singing.
  • Died in 1995. Was still performing until his death at age 78.
  • After Story’s death, mandolin player Danny Arms reorganized the band as Carl Story’s Rambling Mountaineers.
  • 2007, was inducted into the IBMA’s Hall of Fame.

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