Ricky Skaggs started playing the mandolin in the hills of Kentucky at age 5. Fifty-five years later, he’s still in love with what he calls “old-time mountain music.”
“That real traditional thread running through the fabric of the music scene, I’ve always been drawn to that,” Skaggs told “Cityscape” guest host Jim Althoff. “I’ve always felt, too, that if that particular thread ever gets pulled out, I think the whole piece of cloth can just unravel. It’s a very important part of what we need desperately to hold on to and honor.”
Skaggs has a collection of Grammy awards and Country Music Association awards. In 1987, Skaggs and his wife, Sharon White, were named CMA’s vocal duo of the year. It took 27 years for the two to record an album together, produced on Skaggs’ record label, Skaggs Family Records.
“It’s been one the greatest blessings of my life, to have my own label to where I can record the music I want to record when I want to record it and with whomever I want to record it,” Skaggs said.
At other record companies, the bottom line comes first, Skaggs said. “I understand that. That’s part of our work process. But what our hearts really say is that this label, the music comes first. We want to do it for the sake of the music,” he said. “I just believe that if we really take care of the music first and keep that pure and keep that real and honest, that all the dollars and cents will line up and take care of themselves along the way.”
Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder, will perform Feb. 28 at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. Skaggs called the show “rip-roaring foot-stomping — just a blast of thunder.”
Related Event
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
- When: 8 p.m. Feb. 28, 2015
- Where: The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis
- More information
“Cityscape” is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and sponsored in part by the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.
