“It’s been a tough week for our bluegrass family with the passing of Jesse McReynolds and now our beloved Bobby Osborne. In my opinion, the Osborne Brothers were the best harmony singers in bluegrass music history! They worked at it, and they won, hands down. They made us all wanna be better singers. With Bobby’s extremely high pitched voice, the brothers came up with a new way that Bobby could sing his lead where he wanted it and brother Sonny and one more harmony singer could do two parts below Bobby’s lead. Then there were songs where Bobby would sing lead on the verse and switch to tenor on the chorus and Sonny would take the lead. They had so many cool configurations of harmony that it set them apart from anyone else in bluegrass and country music. Not only was Bobby a powerhouse singer, but he was another link in the chain of bluegrass mandolin players. He was great, a real stylist. Bobby, we all owe you and Sonny a debt of gratitude for giving us something to strive for in the music we love so much. Thank you.” –Ricky Skaggs
Thoughts of Bobby Osborne by Ricky Skaggs
