Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys

Celebrating 79th Anniversary of The Clinch Mountain Boys

2025 marks the 79th Anniversary of The Clinch Mountain Boys. We are excited and pleased to carry on the Clinch Mountain style of music. Ralph II began working professionally for his father in the year of 1995 and has carried The Clinch Mountain Boys on since, as well as fronting the first Clinch Mountain Boys group after the passing of his father Ralph Edmond Stanley.

Grammy Award-winning artist Ralph Stanley II and The Clinch Mountain Boys are currently touring across the country and internationally. They have also been working hard in the studio, releasing a #1 hit, 'Back to Virginia'.

With ten #1 singles in his career, R2 is in heavy radio rotation across the country and on Bluegrass Junction, World Wide Bluegrass, iHeart Radio and Sirius XM.

The band includes Stanley Efaw on fiddle, mandolin, and vocals; Alex Leach on banjo and vocals; Randall Hibbitts on the upright bass and vocals; Caleb Shifflett on guitar and vocals; and Ralph Stanley II on the guitar and lead vocals. This band configuration brings a lot of talent, energy, and humor to the stage as they perform old-time favorites, bluegrass hits, and new original material.

Ralph II has had two Grammy nominations on previous albums he recorded with Rebel Records. In 2002 he earned his first Grammy along with his father Dr. Ralph Stanley for their collaboration with Jim Lauderdale on ‘Lost in the Lonesome Pines.’ Ralph II has proven to be an accomplished songwriter and has 6 solo albums under his belt, along with the highly acclaimed duet album with his father titled ‘Side by Side’.

Playing more than 200 shows a year, Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys are an audience favorite at festivals, clubs, arenas, amphitheaters, country fairs, and wherever the blue bus might take ‘em!

Ralph Stanley II

Bio

If you were to gather together an average cross-section of people and ask them if they thought it would be an advantage for a performer to be the child of a legend, most would probably conclude that it would have to be a definite plus. After all, the doors of opportunity would be quicker to open, and the spotlight of public attention that so many artists spend years trying to cultivate would be yours because...well...just because. Famous by default, so to speak and doubtless those are real, tangible advantages. But then there's the downside- pressure. The learning curve, the whole growth process with all its potential missteps and pitfalls, is a public document. Most artists get to take those perilous first steps of their careers in relative anonymity, a nameless face in the crowd.

As one might expect for the son of a renowned banjo player, the first instrument Ralph II ever held was a banjo. At the ripe old age of three, Ralph (or simply "Two" as he is called by his family and friends), had his first lesson from the elder Stanley, learning a simple finger roll. It turned out, however, that he would not be following in his father’s footsteps, when it came to choice of instrument. He soon fell under the spell of the undisputed king of boyhood musical desires, the guitar. He spotted one under his sister’s bed, and according to Ralph, "I wanted to play it. When I was five years old, I started with the guitar and I've been playing it ever since".

But despite his interest in the guitar, and the fact that he was occasionally traveling with the Clinch Mountain Boys on the road, he had not yet developed an ambition to play professionally. It took until age twelve and an old 1977 video of the late Keith Whitley during his tenure as lead singer for the Clinch Mountain Boys, to inspire him to become a professional musician. After seeing Whitley with the elder Stanley, he was hooked and spent hours in the family basement honing his skills, and weathering the comparisons to his late Uncle Carter. His persistence paid off, and he took the stage as lead singer with Ralph Sr. and the Clinch Mountain Boys in June of 1995. Since then, he has earned the respect of Stanley fans everywhere, and has garnered praise as a strong new artist in his own right.

On May 26, 2017, Stanley Family Records released the self-titled album by Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys. This is the first recording released since Ralph II honored his father's wishes by taking over the Clinch Mountain boys name. These big shoes are being filled by the talents of Clinch Mountain Boys Curtis Coleman on banjo, Alex Leach on guitar, Randall Hibbitts on the upright bass, and Stanley Efaw on fiddle and mandolin.

Ralph II has had 2 Grammy nominations on previous albums he recorded with Rebel Records. In 2002 he earned his first Grammy along with his father. Dr. Ralph Stanley for their collaboration with Jim Lauderdale on "Lost in the Lonesome Pines." Ralph II has proven to be an accomplished songwriter and has 6 solo albums under his belt, along with the highly acclaimed duet album with his father titled "Side by Side." When not traveling, Ralph II enjoys his time at home with his wife Kristi and their children Taylor and Ralph III.

Alex Leach

Bio

Alex Leach is a crackerjack on banjo, and always provided a spark with II, both picking and singing, as well as with his quirky and highly entertaining stage presence. Leach recalls: "growing up, as far as I can remember back a lot of my family had different influences all over. My dad always listened to more of the 1980s Guns and Roses, Motley Crue style of music—and my mom was a big country music fan. And then every time I would go over to my grandparents house, I would hear the Beach Boys and a lot of the old style of music, old r&b. So I’ve got a lot of that inside me for sure. Then when I was about six years old, for the first time—it was about 1995 or so—we got our first computer at my grandparents house. I started looking through a CD ROM encyclopedia, just listening to different kinds of music and different clips. I heard bluegrass for the first time, and it was a Bill Monroe song that came on. When I heard that, it really struck me. I thought wow, I’d like to play some mandolin or guitar or something like that. And that’s kind of how it all started there".

Randall Hibbitts

Bio

Randall Hibbitts grew up in the mountains of Southwest Virginia in the little coal mining town of Grundy, Virginia about an hour from one of his musical heroes, Dr Ralph Stanley, never dreaming that he would become one of his Clinch Mountain Boys one day. But that dream did come true in 2012, as he came on board as their new Bass player.

Randall had previously worked a short stint with Dave Evans and River Bend and a couple years with Ralph Stanley II before getting the opportunity to work for Dr. Stanley. Now back working for Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys, he is really enjoying his time on the road with them.

Stanley Efaw

Bio

Originally from Akron, Ohio and now living in Kentucky, Stanley Efaw is no stranger to bluegrass. At two years old he was presented his first banjo, a 40th Anniversary Stanley tone, by Dr. Ralph Stanley. Stanley’s grandfather started a band, The Bluegrass Mountaineers, in 1962, and eventually handed the leadership of the band to Stanley’s dad, Larry. Stanley joined the Bluegrass Mountaineers playing mandolin at the age of seven. Since then, Stanley has been privileged to play with many bands and share the stage with many musicians including, the Remington Ryde, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road, Larry Sparks, and many more.

Stanley is honored to be the newest fiddle player for the Clinch Mountain Boys. Growing up, he studied the Stanley style of Bluegrass Music and says while he has enjoyed the music that he has played over the years, he is very excited to be playing the Stanley style again!