Ralph Stanley II will release “This One is Two” September 23 on Lonesome Day Records.

Nashville, Tenn. — Ralph Stanley II sets a new benchmark for traditional country music with the September 23 release of This One Is Two on Lonesome Day Records.

With Grammy nominations for his last two albums and a Grammy award for his contributions to the album Lost In The Lonesome Pines, Stanley boasts one of the most moving and dramatic voices in country music, an instrument he polished and perfected during his 14 years as lead singer for Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys.

This One Is Two (a reference to Stanley’s nickname) showcases 11 emotionally probing songs by the best writers in the business, among them Lyle Lovett, Townes Van Zandt, Fred Eaglesmith, Tom T. Hall and Elton John. Stanley co-wrote two of the songs: “Honky Tonk Way,” a tough, grimy, up-close look at a country singer’s life on the road, and “Lord Help Me Find The Way,” a cry from the heart he composed when he was suddenly forced to stand in for his famous father.

A particular jewel in this musical treasure chest is “Carter,” Fred Eaglesmith’s mournful valedictory to Stanley’s uncle, the late Carter Stanley of Stanley Brothers fame. In “Cold Shoulder,” Stanley immerses himself in the mind and heart of a lonely trucker who’s snowbound at night miles away from his lover. He resurrects Lyle Lovett’s chilling murder saga, “L. A. County,” a song he refers to as “my ‘Pretty Polly.’”

Stanley turned to ace storyteller Tom T. Hall for the album’s first single, the high-velocity, relentlessly clacking “Train Songs.” From Elton John he borrows the lyrical and sun-loving “Georgia.” Songwriter Elmer C. Burchett Jr. brought Stanley the sweetest “mother” song of recent memory, “Moms Are The Reason Wild Flowers Grow.”

Produced by Mike Latterell and A & R-ed by Lonesome Day president Randall Deaton, This One Is Two features background vocals by former Shenandoah lead singer Marty Raybon, Grammy-winning Jim Lauderdale, Darrin Vincent (of Dailey & Vincent), Dale Anne Bradley and Steve Gulley. The musicians are Tim Crouch (fiddle, guitar), Cody Kilby (guitar), Randy Kohrs (dobro), Harold Nixon (bass), Adam Steffey (mandolin) and Ron Stewart (banjo).This One Is Two is Stanley’s fifth solo album. It is preceded by Carrying On (2004), Stanley Blues (2002, a Grammy nominee for best bluegrass album), Pretty Girls, City Lights (2000) and Listen To My Hammer Ring (1999).

Visit Lonesome Day Records at www.lonesomeday.com or Ralph Stanley II at www.ralphstanleyII.com

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Ralph Stanley II is switching record labels.

He’s departing Rebel Records for Lonesome Day Records, a Kentucky-based label that already has releases by Steve Gulley and Larry Cordle.

Stanley, son of bluegrass giant Ralph Stanley, will have a new release on the Lonesome Day label in early 2008, according to Lonesome Day.

“It’s going to be a departure from anything he’s done before,” said Randall Deaton, owner of the label. “We just about have it finished. Everything before was pretty much like his dad did, Clinch Mountain Boys, Appalachian (sounding).”Deaton said the new CD “is a showcase of him as a singer and the song more so than the picking. It’s got top notch pickers on it. They are there as an ensemble to support him rather than do their individual thing.”

Jim Lauderdale, Cody Kilbey, Tim Crouch, Randy Kohrs, Adam Steffey, Ron Stuart, Marty Raybon and Gulley are among the project’s supporting cast.

“We’re probably looking at March, April of next year,” said Deaton about a release date.

He said the disc would be “much more contemporary sounding.” Songs include Townes Van Zandt’s “Loretta,” Lyle Lovett’s ” L.A. County” and Elton John’s “Georgia.”

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