Bobby Osborne

Known as a great mandolinist in his own right, as well as a member of the revolutionary Osborne Brothers band, Bobby Osborne has often been associated with the cutting edge of bluegrass. (Would that be a lawn mower blade?) But the story of his musically rich life leads back to a story that is as sentimental as one of Osborne's soaring mandolin solos is technically pristine. It is the story of a young man, not quite the legal age of 18 and under massive pressure from his father, singing the song "Ruby" over radio station WPFB in Middletown, OH. It was the young Osborne's first radio broadcast. Apparently 50 telegrams arrived immediately requesting that he sing the song again, something that, needless to say, does not happen every time someone is making his or her debut radio broadcast. "Ruby" became something of a good-luck mantra for the Osborne Brothers, who have called it their signature song. It became the group's first recording and was the chosen selection when the group was picked to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. The group even performed it for President Richard Nixon in the East Room of the White House. The same year as the historic "Ruby" broadcast, Osborne joined the juggernaut Lonesome Pine Fiddlers band. This group was just changing directions from Western swing to bluegrass. Osborne was picking guitar in that period and the other members were Larry Richardson on banjo, Ezra Cline on bass, and Ray Morgan on fiddle. In 1950, Osborne and his brother Jimmy Martin launched a new combo with the somewhat cumbersome name of Jimmy Martin, Bob Osborne & the Sunny Mountain Boys. It would be amusing to report that many a roadhouse ran out of plastic sign letters trying to promote this outfit, but it would also be a lie since the band imploded almost...