Bluegrass legend Larry Sparks was still in high school when he began his career in 1964, playing guitar with the Stanley Brothers. When lead singer Carter Stanley died two years later, his brother Ralph chose the talented teen as his replacement. Since then, Sparks has established his own career as one of the most original and revered instrumental and vocal stylists in bluegrass. His warm blue vocals, relaxed yet richly nuanced, reside on the softer side of the high lonesome/country divide.
Sparks celebrated 40 years in the music business by inviting a “who’s who” of pickers and singers to join him on this glittering collection of sixteen bluegrass gems produced by Rock County mandolinist Don Rigsby. Sparks and friends revisit several of his career highlights and introduce other songs that are likely to become concert requests.
Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski add harmonies to “John Deere Tractor”, a signature song that Sparks recorded in 1978 and was later turned into a country hit by the Judds. “Tennessee 1949”, another Sparks standard, features young country hopeful Kevin Denney along with bluegrass veterans Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle. Vince Gill joins in on the Delmore Brothers classic “Blues Stay Away From Me”, which is transformed from a loping plea to a hard-charging, no-nonsense command.
Other notable tracks include the country-pride manifesto “City Folks Call Us Poor”, with Sharon White-Skaggs and Cheryl White, and “1-800-Do-You-Care”, with Rhonda Vincent. On “Sharecropper’s Son”, the first song Sparks recorded with Stanley in 1967, he is joined by Ralph and another Clinch Mountain Boy alumnus, Ricky Skaggs. And don’t overlook Sparks’ stunning, bent-note guitar solo on the Carter Family instrumental showcase “Carter’s Blues”.
Four gospel devotionals testify to Sparks’ commitment to faith. The Isaacs contribute close family harmonies on “Where The Sweet Water Flows”, which Sparks wrote with his sister Bernice. The Marshall Family adds its voices to the a cappella powerhouse “I Need Jesus”. Tom T. Hall shares lead vocals on the Tom T./Dixie Hall tune “I Want You To Meet My Friend”. Sparks closes with a solo turn on “New Highway”, the title track of his 1998 gospel album.
Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Randy Kohrs (dobro), Skaggs (mandolin), Jim Hurst (guitar), members of Sparks’ band the Lonesome Ramblers, and other all-star pickers contribute to the complementary arrangements, resulting in state-of-the-art bluegrass from beginning to end. It’s a fitting way for a brilliant bluegrasser still at the peak of his powers to celebrate four decades as one of the most influential artists to emerge from the Monroe-Stanleys tradition.
