Man of Constant Sorrow

Praise

“The life chronicled in this autobiography is right out of Southern Gothic lit… The level of detail renders Stanley’s tales as captivating as his music.”
–Rolling Stone

“A delightful, outspoken surprise… An often tart yet affecting music memoir.”
–Kirkus (starred review)

“After all these years [Stanley’s] tongue is still sharp.”
–Wall Street Journal

“[Man of Constant Sorrow] is a lot like the man himself: warm, folksy, down to earth, plainspoken, a little blunt and prickly at times.”
–New York Times

“No less than the oral history of a quintessentially American music scene.”
–Mother Jones

“This late-in-life memoir is a classic- remarkably frank, detailed, revealing, and from time to time it rises to the level of plainspoken poetry. The master of old time singing and clawhammer banjo pulls no punches as he recalls his rural Virginia mountain boyhood, the Stanleys’ slow rise to success, his career restart after his alcoholic brother’s death in 1966, and musicians he played with, from Bill Monroe to Keith Whitley and even Bob Dylan. He settles a few scores, shares his inner thoughts on matters social, political and spiritual, and tells his tale in a flowing, engaging style that’s no doubt also a credit to Virginia journalist Dean.”
–American Songwriter (five stars)

“In the prologue to Man of Constant Sorrow Ralph Stanley writes: ‘I’ve always done my best to honor what God gave me. I’ve never tried to put any airs on it. I sing it the way I feel it, just the way it comes out.’ With music writer Eddie Dean, he relates his life in the same speaking voice – honestly and with extraordinary detail.”
–Austin Chronicle

“As fascinating as Stanley’s personal revelations are, this book’s greatest value lies in his documentary-like descriptions of the hardships rural musicians faced in the 1940s and ’50s-crowded cars, band rivalries, long and dangerous roads and hand-to-mouth living.”
–BookPage

“Man of Constant Sorrow brims with Stanley’s homespun wit as he recalls vivid tales of the church and sawmills of his youth, which served as the wellsprings for the Stanley brothers’ halting, soulful music; their days with King Records, when they were label-mates with soul legend James Brown; and the personal struggles Stanley faced after his brother’s alcohol-related death.”
–American Way

“With music journalist Dean’s help, Stanley has put his speech on paper. Every word about his hardscrabble upbringing, how Carter and he built livings in music, his perseverance after Carter’s untimely death in 1966, the many personalities he has worked with and admired, and much more, is vibrant with it. Perhaps in the future this lovely book will occupy a position in American autobiography like that of Huckleberry Finn among American novels, as the great vernacular example of its kind.”
–Booklist (starred review)

“Man of Constant Sorrow is an invaluable book…You’ve never heard anything like this story, but if you care anything about great American voices, at the microphone or on the page, you won’t miss it.”
–Newsweek