“Rocky Top” (1967)
Grand Ole Opry Star Bobby Osborne tells us the story of “Rocky Top”.
– Click the red play button below to listen to this Bobby Osborne Celebrity Interview with KRVN’s “Big Al Weekley.”
( brought to you by www.MusicChartsMagazine.com – The History of Rocky Top – )
In 1994, The Osborne Brothers were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Honor. The induction is considered bluegrass music’s highest honor.
In 1973, the Osborne Brothers performed at the White House as the first bluegrass group ever.
Hits
Their song “Ruby Are You Mad” came in 1956 after signing with MGM Records (1956) and began a string of hits through 1986. Among them were “Once More” (1958), “Up This Hill & Down” (1965), “Making Plans” (1965), “Rocky Top” (1967), “Tennessee Hound Dog” (1969), and “Midnight Flyer” (1972). The Osborne Brothers’ final chart appearance came in late 1986 with a new version of “Rocky Top”.
Read more on the Osborne Brothers at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Brothers
Bobby Osborne Awards and Honors:
– Member of the Grand Ole Opry since Aug. 8, 1964
– CMA Vocal Group of the Year (Osborne Brothers): 1971
– 6 CMA Vocal Group of the Year Nominations (Osborne Brothers): 1970-1975
– Music City News “Number One Bluegrass Group” (Osborne Brothers): 1971-1978
– SPBGMA Male Vocalist of the Year: 1990
– Inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Honor (Osborne Brothers): Sept. 22, 1994
– IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year (Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza): Oct. 19, 2000
– IBMA Recorded Event of the Year (Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza): Oct. 19, 2000
– Inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame: 2002
– Uncle Dave Macon Days 2008 Heritage Award: Jun. 12, 2008
– Inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Honor (Lonesome Pine Fiddlers): Oct. 1, 2009
“Rocky Top” is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year. The song, which is a city-dweller’s lamentation over the loss of a simpler and freer existence in the hills of Tennessee, is one of Tennessee’s eight official state songs and has been recorded by dozens of artists from multiple musical genres worldwide since its publication. In U.S. college athletics, “Rocky Top” is associated with the Tennessee Volunteers of the University of Tennessee, whose Pride of the Southland Band has played a marching band version of the song at the school’s sporting events since the early 1970s.
The Osborne Brothers’ 1967 bluegrass version of the song reached number thirty-three on the U.S. Country charts.
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top