Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.

Ralph Stanley.

Immensely proud of his traditional "old-time mountain style" bluegrass music, Grammy-winner Ralph Stanley declares, "I play it the way I feel it . . . I'm plain and I'm down to earth and I'm proud of it."

Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys bring their legendary bluegrass sound to the small screen on this episode of Jubilee. The band's performance was recorded at the 1997 Red Mule Bluegrass Festival in Berea, Ky.

Stanley, whose mother gave him his first banjo and taught him to play his first tune when he was 11 years old, has been performing bluegrass music for more than half a century. While he's lately become something of a household name following the critical and commercial success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Stanley's work in bluegrass music has not gone unnoticed through the years. Stanley was inducted into the IBMA Hall of Honor in 1992. A member of both the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, he was the first recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Traditional American Music Award in 1985 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Lincoln Memorial University.

The Clinch Mountain Boys band, originally formed in 1946 with Ralph Stanley's brother Carter, includes lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player Ralph Stanley II, mandolin player John Rigsby, lead guitarist James Shelton, banjo player Steve Sparkman, fiddle player James Price and bass player Jack Cooke.

This hour-long Jubilee episode includes a rich mix of old ballads, rousing instrumentals and gospel tunes and introduces Ralph Stanley's young grandson, Nathan, who sings a song with the band. Stanley closes the show with a tribute to his late brother Carter.

Jubilee is a KET production, produced and directed by H. Russell Farmer. The program is closed-captioned for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.