Sugar Hill
In the third installment of this series we will explore the career of Ricky Skaggs as he makes his entry into the country music industry.
In 1977 Ricky Skaggs joined Emmylou Harris's Hot Band. This was Skaggs' first shift toward mainstream country music and away from bluegrass. Even though Harris's band primarily performed country music, Skaggs was very influential in moving Harris toward a more traditional country and bluegrass sound, often to great acclaim. He worked for Harris from 1977 to 1980. It was during this stint with Harris that Skaggs recorded his final album with his own band, Boone Creek, titled "One Way Track". He also recorded two duet bluegrass albums with Tony Rice and his first solo album, "Sweet Temptation", which was released on the Sugar Hill label. This new solo project was a hit and garnered the attention of a major label, Epic Records. In 1981 Skaggs signed a contract with Epic and released "Waitin' For The Sun To Shine" later that year.
Skaggs received considerable attention when "Waitin' For The Sun To Shine" topped the country charts and earned two #1 hits. Overall, his recordings for Epic produced a total of 12 #1 hits. He also garnered eight Country Music Association Awards including Entertainer of the Year in 1985.
From 1982 to 1983 Skaggs had five straight #1 hit singles. They were "Heartbroke", "Crying My Heart Out Over You", "Highway Forty Blues", "I Don't Care", and "I Wouldn't Change You If I Could". Also in 1982 he became a member of the world famous Grand Ole Opry.
Skaggs was now a star and became a major artistic and commercial force within country music. He had a string of top ten hits and Grammy Award winning albums and, in the process, he brought his roots in bluegrass and traditional country music to the contemporary Nashville sound. The legendary Chet Atkins credited Skaggs with "single-handedly" saving the country music format.
Toward the end of the decade, Skaggs wasn't hitting the country charts as frequently as he had in the past, but by this time he had firmly established himself as an icon in the industry.
Please check out Part 4 of this series where we will look further into Ricky's career as he returns to his roots in bluegrass music.
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