AMERICAN SONGWRITER By Cindy Watts–April 3, 2025 10:37 am
Ricky Skaggs is in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the IBMA Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and the Musicians Hall of Fame. In other words, the 70-year-old Kentucky-born guitar slinger built his decades-long enviable career playing music from every genre he loved and being true to himself.
For those who want a successful music career, he suggests they do the same.
“Be an original,” Skaggs told American Songwriter ahead of his performance with Vince Gill on the Opry 100 television special. “Don’t be a copy. God gave you one voice, and he gave you a special voice. Be who you were created to be.”
Skaggs urges up-and-coming singers not to chase trends or mimic their favorite artists.
“Don’t try to sing like Keith Whitley,” he said. “Don’t try to sing like George Jones. You may let those influences creep in, and that’s okay. But use your voice to do it.”
Vince Gill: “Don’t Try to Sing Like George Jones”
Skaggs believes it’s important for artists to play songs from their hearts and minds – to locate the creativity that is in them and perform from that. After all, that’s what he did. Skaggs made a career following his heart – or his mandolin.
He learned to play the mandolin when he was 5 years old. The following year, he added guitar and memorized the chords by watching his father’s hands on the instrument’s neck and then emulating what he did while looking in the mirror. That same year, he wound up on stage with Bill Monroe, Monroe’s mandolin draped around his neck. Skaggs was 7 years old when his family moved from Kentucky to Goodlettsville, Tennessee, near Nashville, hoping that Skaggs could sing on the Grand Ole Opry.
Earl Scruggs heard him sing and invited Skaggs to audition for Flatt & Scruggs’ television show. Skaggs performed “Foggy Mountain Special” and “Ruby,” the same song he’d played on Monroe’s mandolin the year before.
The Skaggs family moved back to Kentucky about three years later and went to see bluegrass duo the Stanley Brothers in nearby Olive Hill. Again, Skaggs found himself on stage.
Ricky Skaggs Promised to Keep Bluegrass Music Alive
By the time he was 16 years old, Skaggs was traveling with Ralph Stanley to festivals, his star continuing to rise in the bluegrass world. At 18, he got married and left the rolling hills of Kentucky for Washington, D.C. He briefly took a job at a power company before refocusing his full attention on music. He forged relationships with the Country Gentlemen and Emmylou Harris, who was Skaggs’ bridge to country music in the 1980s.
Skaggs’ country career produced hits including “Heartbroke,” “Honey (Open That Door),” “Highway 40 Blues,” and his first chart-topper, “Crying My Heart Out Over You,” which he says changed his life and career.
Just before Monroe died in 1996, Skaggs promised him he would do his part to keep Monroe’s legacy — bluegrass music — alive. Skaggs shifted his creative focus back to bluegrass and didn’t play a country show for 20 years.
Ricky Skaggs Lived His Advice
Skaggs built his career by following his heart – just like he’s instructing new artists.
“Just being able to move in and out of those genres and still have great relationships with all my friends is really special,” Skaggs said. “There’s still some real tradition out here, even though there’s a lot of new coming in and out.”