Ricky Skaggs "Solo (Songs My Dad Loved)" (Skaggs Family Records)
Ricky Skaggs’ first-ever solo album, Ricky Skaggs Solo (Songs My Dad Loved), is due to be released on Sept. 15 on Skaggs Family Records.
It is exactly what the title implies: Ricky Skaggs – solo. No studio musicians. No guest artists. Just Ricky Skaggs.
According to promotional material on the label’s Web site, “the true story behind (Skaggs’) remarkable career can be traced back to the first music he remembers hearing – the songs his dad loved.”
“When Hobert Skaggs’ brother and musical partner died in World War II, he vowed that if one of his children ever showed interest in music, he would teach them to how to play the mandolin,” according to the Web site. “Now, 50 years after picking up that mandolin, Ricky Skaggs celebrates the man who caused him to fall in love with music.
“Esteemed for his unmistakable vocals, Skaggs raises the bar even higher serving as his own duet partner on the Monroe Brothers’ “What Is A Home Without Love” and “Sinner, You Better Get Ready” as well as Albert Brumley’s “This World Is Not My Home,” Roy Acuff’s “Branded Wherever I Go” and the classic hymn, “God Holds The Future In His Hands.”
Ricky Skaggs plays every instrument on the album.Fiddle and clawhammer banjo are prominently featured on instrumentals “Colonel Prentiss,” “Calloway” and Skaggs’ own “Pickin’ in Caroline.”
Stirring arrangements of gospel tunes “City That Lies Foursquare” and “Green Pastures in the Sky” are signatures of a seasoned producer while classics such as “Foggy River,” “Little Maggie” and “I Had But Fifty Cents” produce images of an old fashioned front porch jam.
Information is available at Skaggs’ Web site or at Skaggs Family Records.