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Kentucky mandolinist Don Rigsby fills the lengthy liner notes for his latest album, Doctor’s Orders: A Tribute to Ralph Stanley (Rebel), with a detailed account of his first encounter with the bluegrass legend the album salutes. He saw Stanley perform live for the first time in 1974, which happened to be his sixth birthday, and if his memories are to be trusted, he was pretty ecstatic in anticipation of the concert. Rigsby’s father was friendly with the great singer and guitarist Keith Whitley, who had recently joined the Clinch Mountain Boys: Whitley ended up taking the six-year-old Rigsby backstage to meet Stanley, where he was introduced as his biggest fan. Stanley asked him what his favorite song was, and Rigsby blurted out two, both of which Stanley and his band ended up playing that night.
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