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Artist
The Osborne Brothers
12+ albums
bluegrasscountryclassic countrybanjoAll
about
The Osborne Brothers, comprising Sonny Osborne (October 29, 1937 – October 24, 2021) and Bobby Osborne (December 7, 1931 - June 27, 2023), was an influential and popular American bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s (and until Sonny Osborne retired in 2005). They are probably best known for their 1967 country hit song, "Rocky Top", written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and named after a Tennessee location. The first known public appearance of the Osborne Brothers was in 1951. They joined the cast at WCYB Bristol, Virginia, to perform on a program called "Farm and Fun Time", along with other Bluegrass bands, such as, The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Carl Story and his Rambling Mountainers. Other members of "Farm and Fun Time" included, Jim & Jesse, Little Robert Van Winkle, Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers, and country recording artist Red Kirk. The live program aired five days a week, Monday through Friday from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm on WCYB Radio, and covered five states. Upon their breakout into the bluegrass scene, the Osborne Brothers quickly became noted for their virtuosic instrumentation and tight, melodic vocal harmonies. Their first country chart appearance was "Once More", a 1958 trio with Red Allen, with a then-novel inverted stacked harmony: Bobby singing the lead line highest, then Sonny singing baritone, and finally the third singer (in this case Red Allen) singing the tenor as the lowest part. This placed Bobby's distinctive voice as the lead,
