Bluegrass Music - The Osborne Brothers

Nobody can talk about BLUEGRASS music without mentioning the Osborne Brothers. They were a very popular act in the 1960's and 1970's. They were best known for their 1968 song, "Rocky Top", named after a mountain in Tennessee and written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.

Although the Osborne Brothers were born in Hyden, Kentucky, they spent their childhood near Dayton, Ohio where they first began experiencing entertainment. Sonny Osborne went to work for Bill Monroe after Bobby was drafted into the military in 1952. When Bobby Osborne returned from service in 1953, they brothers teamed up with Jimmy Martin and performed at radio stations WJR in Detroit, Michigan and WROL in Knoxville, Tennesee. In their only recording session together with Jimmy Martin, they recorded six songs for RCA Victor. This occurred on Nov. 16, 1954. In late 1955, the Osbornes left Jimmy Martin and performed with Charlie Baily until Christmas of the same year. They returned to Dayton in 1956 and played with guitarist Enos Johnson. Johnson left and then the Osbornes hired fiddler Art Stamper and guitarist Red Allen to form their new group, the Osborne Brothers and Red Allen.

This newly formed group recorded for Gateway Records in February and March of 1956. In the spring of '56, Tommy Sutton, a local disc jockey helped the Osborne Brothers get a contract with MGM. The new group consisted of Red Allen on guitar, Tommy Jackson and Art Stamper on fiddles, and Ernie Newton on bass. Their first released single for MGM was "Ruby Are You Mad", marked the first time that twin banjos were used on a bluegrass music recording. Red Allen left the group in the spring of 1958.

The Osborne Brothers became known in bluegrass music with their tight vocal harmonies and virtuostic instrumentation. Their "high lead' vocals became their signature sound and during the '60's, they started a controversy among the bluegrass music purists for using electronic and percussion instruments in their music.

In 1960, the Osborne Brothers became the first bluegrass music group to perform at a college campus when they performed at Antioch College. In 1963, they switched to Decca Records and their hit "Rocky Top" sold 85,000 copies within two weeks. On August 8, 1964, they were inducted as members of the Grand Ole Opry and in 1973, became the first bluegrass music band to perform at the White House.