{"title":"The Osborne Brothers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Osborne Brothers were one of the most popular and innovative bluegrass groups of the post-war era, taking the music into new directions and gaining a large audience. Among their most notable achievements are their pioneering, inventive use of amplification, twin harmony banjos, steel guitars, and drums -- they were the first bluegrass group to expand the genre's sonic palette in such a fashion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBobby and Sonny Osborne were born in Hyden, Kentucky, but raised in Dayton, Ohio. As children, their father instilled a love for traditional music. Bobby picked up the electric guitar as a teenager, playing in various local bands. A few years after his brother began playing the guitar, Sonny picked up the banjo. In 1949, Bobby formed a duo with banjoist Larry Richardson. The pair was hired by a West Virginia radio station and stayed in the state for a while, eventually hooking up with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers. During their stay with the Fiddlers, they helped change the group's sound to bluegrass and made four singles for Cozy Records. Bobby Osborne left the band in the summer of 1951, forming a band with Jimmy Martin that fell apart shortly after its inception. After making a one-shot single, \"New Freedom Bell,\" with his siblings Louise and Sonny, he joined the Stanley Brothers for a short while before being drafted into the Army.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSonny spent some time with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the early '50s, appearing on several sides on Decca Records. He also cut some covers of popular Monroe and Flatt \u0026amp; Scruggs songs for the budget label Gateway. After Bobby returned from the Army, he and Sonny formed a band. Initially, they supported Jimmy Martin on his RCA session while they had their own spot on a Knoxville radio station. In 1956, they joined the Wheeling Jamboree; they would stay with the radio program for four years. In March of that year, Red Allen joined the brothers -- four months after his arrival, they recorded their first session for MGM Records. For the next year, they toured and recorded, steadily gaining a large audience. In the spring of 1958, \"Once More\" became a number 13 hit on the country charts. Its success helped push the band into the mainstream.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShortly after the success of \"Once More,\" Allen left the band, and the Osbornes filled his vacancy with a string of musicians and vocalists, including Johnny Dacus and Benny Birchfield. The duo stayed with the Wheeling Jamboree and MGM Records into the early '60s. The Osbornes became the first bluegrass act to play a college campus in 1960, when they played Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. That appearance ushered in a new era for bluegrass, creating a new, younger audience for the music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Osbornes left MGM in 1963, signing with Decca Records. On their mid-'60s records for Decca, the duo began experimenting more with their music, adding piano, steel guitar, and electric instruments to their music. Their adventurousness made them more accessible to a mass audience, as their string of late-'60s and early-'70s hit singles proves. Although their experimentation angered many bluegrass traditionalists, the Osbornes were the only bluegrass group to consistently have country hits during this time, even if all their singles were only minor hits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1975, the Osbornes left Decca but continued to play the Grand Ole Opry and bluegrass festivals across America. Later in the '70s, the duo returned to a more traditional sound. Throughout the '80s and '90s they stuck to this sound, playing concerts and festivals frequently and recording albums for CMH, RCA, Sugar Hill, and Pinecastle. Forty years after their formation, the Osborne Brothers remained an active act in the mid-'90s. Sonny Osborne died on October 24, 2021 after suffering a stroke; he was 83 years old. His brother Bobby Osborne followed on June 27, 2023 at the age of 91. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-osborne-brothers-from-rocky-top-to-muddy-bottom-rsd-essential-indie-colorway-denim-blue-lp","title":"The Osborne Brothers | From Rocky Top to Muddy Bottom (RSD Essential Indie Colorway Denim Blue LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eIndie Exclusive - Extraordinary instrumentalists and endlessly forward-thinking artists, The Osborne Brothers constantly pushed bluegrass music forward and, with their persistence, made a name for themselves that has survived to this day. The duo had a surprise hit in 1968, well after the commercial peak of bluegrass music, with “Rocky Top”, a song written by husband-and-wife songwriting duo Felice and Boudleaux Bryants. The Bryants, famous for their work with the Everly Brothers as well as pieces recorded by countless other country artists, are celebrated here with 20 of their songs excellently performed by The Osborne Brothers. From Rocky Top to Muddy Bottom was recorded for CMH in 1977 and is now available again on vinyl (with original artwork and liner notes included!) for the very first time. Hear this outstanding group burn through 20 country and bluegrass classics with the richest harmonies and the warmest fidelity one can find.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eTracklist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eA1        Rocky Top\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA2        We Could\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA3        Georgia Mules And Country Boys\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA4        Don't Ever Tell Me You Love Me (Unless You Mean It With All Of Your Heart)\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA5        Hey Joe\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB1        All I Have To Do Is Dream\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB2        Packing Up Your Heart (To Say Goodbye)\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB3        Tell It To Your Old Grandma\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB4        Little Boy\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB5        Banjo's Goin' Home\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC1        Georgia Piney Woods\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC2        Just Another Dream (I'll Have To Learn To Live Without)\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC3        I Can't See The Rainbow\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC4        Take Me As I Am (Or Let Me Go)\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC5        Tennessee Hound Dog\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD1        Where Did The Sunshine Go?\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD2        Country Boy\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD3        Love Hurts\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD4        Fortune, Fortune\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD5        Muddy Bottom\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e*Audio and\/or tracklist may vary slightly from the vinyl version.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eLabel: CMH Records\u003cbr\u003e\r\nRel. Date: 03\/22\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\r\nUPC: 027297900813\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/from-rocky-top-to-muddy-bottom-the-songs-of\/277696476\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Country\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 03\/22\/2024\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"The Osborne Brothers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46871399629033,"sku":"NYFY2K-U40O-00","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/from-rocky-top-to-muddy-bottom-rsd-essential-indie-colorway-denim-blue-lp_lWbd5_4341954b-9b92-4c6a-8e55-1ef851531af6.jpg?v=1743242086"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/collections\/image_d6416a4b-0590-4ae6-b98c-ba6622405089.jpg?v=1711785043","url":"https:\/\/www.vibinvinyl.com\/collections\/the-osborne-brothers.oembed","provider":"Vibin' Vinyl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}