Junior Sisk is a rhythm guitarist, lead singer, and songwriter from Ferrum, Virginia. He founded Ramblers Choice in 1998 and has led the band since he reformed it in 2007. In 2012 the band won IBMA Album of the Year for The Heart of a Song and Song of the Year for A Far Cry from Lester and Earl. Sisk won IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 2013.
Why Sisk matters
Sisk keeps the sound of the 1950s Stanley Brothers alive in a working band. He does not update it. He plays a strong, plain rhythm guitar, sings a high lonesome lead, and picks songs about home, work, and heartache. A Far Cry from Lester and Earl is the song that says it out loud: the band’s whole point is to sound like the records that started it all. Jammers who want to know what traditional bluegrass rhythm sounds like today can start here.
Life and career
Sisk was born Harry Carpenter Sisk Jr. on November 6, 1964, in Arlington, Virginia, and grew up in Ferrum in the Virginia Blue Ridge. His father wrote songs and played guitar, and his mother sang. Sisk started playing at 14.
He first got noticed as a songwriter when the Lonesome River Band recorded his songs, including The Game (I Can’t Win). He played with Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz from 1995 to 1996. In 1998 he and bass player Tim Massey founded Ramblers Choice, which released Sounds of the Mountains on Rounder that year. The band broke up in 2001. Sisk spent that year with Lost and Found, then played in BlueRidge with mandolinist Alan Bibey from 2002 to 2006.
He reformed Ramblers Choice in 2007 and signed with Rebel Records. The band released Blue Side of the Blue Ridge (2008), Heartaches and Dreams (2010), The Heart of a Song (2011), The Story of the Day That I Died (2013), Hall of Fame Bluegrass! (2013), and Trouble Follows Me (2014). The Heart of a Song, produced by Wes Easter and the band, won IBMA Album of the Year in 2012. Sisk moved to Mountain Fever Records for Poor Boy’s Pleasure (2016), The Mountains Are Calling Me Home (2017), and Load the Wagon (2020). Load the Wagon spent six straight months at number one on the National Survey chart in 2020.
Playing style
Sisk plays rhythm guitar the way Carter Stanley did. The right hand plays a bass note, then a chord, with the bass note louder than the strum. He keeps the pattern plain and does not fill the gaps. That leaves room for the banjo and fiddle, and it gives the band a steady, unhurried drive. He ends verses with a G-run to hand the song back to the band.
His voice sits high and carries a hard edge. He sings in the Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks lineage, with a lonesome tone that cuts through a full band without a shout. The songs he chooses matter as much as the sound. Ronnie Bowman produced the reformed band’s Rebel records with a focus on well-chosen songs, strong picking, and vocals that tell the story.
Influences and legacy
Sisk names the Stanley Brothers, Larry Sparks, Dave Evans, and the Johnson Mountain Boys as his influences. That puts him in a direct line from Carter Stanley through Dudley Connell. He played beside Wyatt Rice in Santa Cruz and beside Alan Bibey in BlueRidge. Ronnie Bowman produced his records and sang on Longneck Blues, which won IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year in 2016.
His songs have been recorded by the Lonesome River Band. Tim Massey, his co-founder in Ramblers Choice, wrote Cold Virginia Night, the IBMA Song of the Year in 1995.
Signature tunes and songs
A Far Cry from Lester and Earl The Game (I Can’t Win) Longneck Blues Load the Wagon The Cry from the Cross.
Essential recordings
Sounds of the Mountains, as Ramblers Choice (Rounder, 1998) Blue Side of the Blue Ridge (Rebel, 2008) The Heart of a Song (Rebel, 2011) Poor Boy’s Pleasure (Mountain Fever, 2016) Load the Wagon (Mountain Fever, 2020)
Awards and honors
IBMA Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year, Stanley Gospel Tradition: Songs About Our Savior, with various artists (1998) IBMA Album of the Year, The Heart of a Song (2012) IBMA Song of the Year, A Far Cry from Lester and Earl, written by Tim Massey, Rick Pardue, and Harry Sisk Jr. (2012) IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year (2013) IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year, Longneck Blues, with Ronnie Bowman (2016)
Watch and listen
Sisk and Ramblers Choice play A Far Cry from Lester and Earl. Watch his right hand keep the bass-and-strum pattern under the lead vocal.
What to learn from Sisk
Learn A Far Cry from Lester and Earl. It is a mid-tempo song with standard changes, so a jam can pick it up in one pass, and the words tell new pickers where the music comes from. The technique to steal is his bass note. Play along with The Heart of a Song and make the bass note twice as loud as the chord. Most beginners strum too much and hit the bass too soft. Flip that, and the whole jam will sound more like a band.
Sources
Junior Sisk, IBMA award recipients Awards by year, IBMA Vocals and guitar, Junior Sisk official site Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice, Rebel Records Load the Wagon, Junior Sisk, Mountain Fever Music Group Junior Sisk, Wikipedia
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more rhythm players. Sisk learned from Larry Sparks and Carter Stanley records and names Dudley Connell’s Johnson Mountain Boys as an influence. He played beside Wyatt Rice in Santa Cruz.