 Bluegrass
and Country Music icon RICKY SKAGGS has
just about done it all over the course of his 50+
years in music. With hundreds of career accolades
and countless life experiences under his belt,
Skaggs certainly has a story to tell.
Now, for the first time, Skaggs is ready to tell
the story of his life with the release of his
per-sonal autobiography, "KENTUCKY
TRAVELER" (It Books). Skaggs will release
this unprecedented piece of Bluegrass and Country
Music literature on August 13, 2013.
"Kentucky Traveler" is an honest,
deeply American story of the power of faith,
family, and music from one of America's most
beloved Bluegrass and Country artists.
 Unlike
other farm boys growing up in the small town of
Cordell, Kentucky, Skaggs learned to play the
mandolin at five years old. Sure, plenty of other
mountain boys plucked guitars or fiddles, or
learned the old songs their grandparents taught
them. But few tried and fewer still mastered the
mandolin. When Bluegrass master and mandolin
virtuoso Bill Monroe rolled into a nearby small
town, Ricky was there. As the crowd cheered,
"Let little Ricky sing one!" so began a
storied life in music.
With Monroe as a mentor and with a family who
supported him at every turn, Skaggs joined the
Clinch Mountain Boys band and became a
professional musician at age fifteen. By
twenty-one he was already considered a star in
the Bluegrass world. Skaggs would eventually move
away from his roots into the world of mainstream
country music - and in doing so, became a country
legend and a household name.
Despite the hit singles, gold records, and
successful tours, Skaggs knew there was more to
his mission. With a failed marriage and a
sometimes strained relationship with his
children, Skaggs had to make a choice. He would
follow God's plan, and rededicate his life to
Christ, to his family, and to the music that made
him. He would carry the torch lit by his musical
heroes Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, and Bill
Monroe and, most important, live the life and
play the music that would make his mom and dad
proud.
In "Kentucky Traveler," the music
legend who revived modern Bluegrass music, Ricky
Skaggs, gives a warm, honest, one-of-a-kind
memoir of decades in music-along with the Ten
Commandments of Bluegrass, as handed down by
Skaggs' mentor Bill Monroe; the Essential Guide
to Bedrock Country Songs, a lovingly compiled
walk through the songs that have moved Skaggs the
most throughout his life; Songs the Lord Taught
Us, a primer on Skaggs' most essential Gospel
songs; and a bevy of personal snapshots of his
musical heroes.
About Ricky Skaggs:
With 12 #1 hit singles, 14 GRAMMY Awards, eleven
IBMA Awards, eight ACM Awards and eight CMA
Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), Ricky
Skaggs is truly a pioneer of Bluegrass and
Country music. Since he began playing music more
than 50 years ago, Skaggs has released more than
30 albums and has performed thousands of live
shows. Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder,
continue to keep the tour trail red hot,
performing more than 80 live dates each year.
Skaggs started his own record label, Skaggs
Family Records, in 1997 and has since released 12
consecutive GRAMMY-nominated albums.www.SkaggsFamilyRecords.com
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