Larry Stephenson is a mandolin player, tenor singer, and songwriter. He recorded his first single at 13, toured with Bill Harrell and the Virginians and the Bluegrass Cardinals, and has led the Larry Stephenson Band since February 10, 1989. He has won SPBGMA Male Vocalist of the Year five times and SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the Year in 2011. He runs his own label, Whysper Dream Music.
Why Stephenson matters
Stephenson is a classic example of the singing mandolin player who leads a band. His high tenor and his clean, traditional mandolin have carried his band for more than 35 years. He started as a kid copying the Osborne Brothers and Jim and Jesse, and that brother-duet and high-lead tradition still runs through his music. He shows how a working bluegrass band stays together and keeps recording, decade after decade.
Life and career
Stephenson learned mandolin as a boy. At 13 he recorded a single with the Osborne Brothers’ Rocky Top on one side and Jim and Jesse’s Somebody Loves You Darling on the other. In the mid-1970s he toured with his father, Ed Stephenson, as Larry Stephenson and the New Grass, and he also worked with Cliff Waldron and Leon Morris.
From 1979 he spent more than four years with Bill Harrell and the Virginians. In 1983 he joined the Bluegrass Cardinals and recorded Home Is Where the Heart Is (1984) and The Shining Path (1986) with them. He also made two solo albums, Sweet Sunny South (1982) and Everytime I Sing a Love Song (1988).
He formed the Larry Stephenson Band on February 10, 1989, and moved near Nashville in 1992. The band recorded for Webco and Pinecastle. When Pinecastle shut down in February 2010, he started Whysper Dream Music and released his 20th anniversary album with guests including Del McCoury, Sonny Osborne, and Dudley Connell. He also sang in the side groups the Bluegrass Band and White House, the latter with Jason Carter and Missy Raines. The Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame inducted him in 1996.
Playing style
Stephenson plays clean, traditional mandolin built on the Osborne and Jim and Jesse records he grew up on. His breaks are melodic and well placed, with a bright tone and a steady right hand. He favors songs, so his mandolin works mostly to frame his singing.
His tenor voice is high and clear, and it is the center of his band’s sound.
Influences and legacy
Stephenson’s early models were Bobby Osborne and Jesse McReynolds. He has played beside Bill Harrell, Cliff Waldron, the Bluegrass Cardinals, Jason Carter, Missy Raines, and Wyatt Rice.
He played on Everett Lilly’s Everybody and Their Brother, which won IBMA Recorded Event of the Year in 2008. Don Rigsby also passed through the Bluegrass Cardinals.
Signature tunes and songs
Rocky Top Clinch Mountain Mystery Give This Message to Your Heart Big Spike Hammer.
Essential recordings
The Shining Path, with the Bluegrass Cardinals (Sugar Hill, 1986) Clinch Mountain Mystery (Pinecastle, 2004) Give This Message to Your Heart: 20th Anniversary (Whysper Dream, 2010) Pull Your Savior In (Whysper Dream, 2014)
Awards and honors
Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame (1996) SPBGMA Male Vocalist of the Year (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008) SPBGMA Song of the Year, Clinch Mountain Mystery (2005) IBMA Album of the Year, Celebration of Life: Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (2006) IBMA Recorded Event of the Year, Everett Lilly and Everybody and Their Brother (2008) SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the Year (2011)
Watch and listen
The Larry Stephenson Band plays Yes, I See God at Music City Roots. Listen to his tenor ride on top.
What to learn from Stephenson
Learn Rocky Top, the song Stephenson recorded at 13, and play a break that follows the melody note for note. Then sing it in Bobby Osborne’s key, high and clear. Stephenson’s career shows that a mandolin player who can sing a strong lead or tenor will always have a band.
Sources
Larry Stephenson, Wikipedia Larry Stephenson announces Whysper Dream Music, Bluegrass Today
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Stephenson grew up on Bobby Osborne and Jesse McReynolds. Don Rigsby also played in the Bluegrass Cardinals.