The Music of the Stanley Brothers brings together forty years of passionate research by scholar and record label owner Gary B. Reid. A leading authority on Carter and Ralph Stanley, Reid augments his own vast knowledge of their music with interviews, documents ranging from books to folios sold by the brothers at shows, and the words of Ralph Stanley, former band members, guest musicians, session producers, songwriters, and bluegrass experts. The result is a reference that illuminates the Stanleys' art and history. It is all here: dates and locations; the roster of players on well-known and obscure sessions alike; master/matrix and catalog/release numbers, with reissue information; a full discography sorting out the Stanleys' complex recording history; the stories behind the music; and exquisitely informed biographical notes that place events in the context of the brothers' careers and lives.

Monumental and indispensable, The Music of the Stanley Brothers provides fans and scholars alike with a guide for immersion in the long career and breathtaking repertoire of two legendary American musicians.

| Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Getting to Know Gary Reid Format of the Discographies 1. Death Is Only a Dream: 1947–1948 Discography 2. To Us, That Would Have Been the Impossible: Columbia Records, 1949–1952 Discography 3. Some of Our Best Recordings Were the Mercurys: 1953–1958 Discography 4. "How Mountain Girls Can Love": The Early King/Starday Years, 1958–1962 Discography 5. "Stone Walls and Steel Bars": The Later King Years, 1963–1966 Discography Numerical Listing of Releases Notes Bibliography General Index Song Index | Best Discography, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2016. Bluegrass Print/Media Person of the Year, International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), 2015. — Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
Best Discography, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2016. Bluegrass Print/Media Person of the Year, International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), 2015. — International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)
|Gary B. Reid is the founder and head of Copper Creek Records, a label specializing in bluegrass and old-time music, and is a three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Award for best liner notes.