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When Ricky Skaggs was 5 years old, his father handed him a mandolin. Two years later, Skaggs earned $52.50 for his first television appearance alongside the legendary Earl Scruggs. The night the show aired, his family finished dinner early and gathered around the set. Little Ricky, terrified, ran and hid under his bed.
"I freaked out," Skaggs recalls. "I listened to it, but I was so shy. My mom and dad wanted to watch it so bad that they didn't come talk to me to get me out from under the bed."
"I really wanted to do songs that he sang well," says Skaggs. "I can really here him singing these songs. It's amazing."
Skaggs is taking the spirit of his father with him on the road. Next Thursday, the 55-year-old will present his band, Kentucky Thunder, at the Music Center at Strathmore.
"We're sure looking forward to coming to Strathmore," Skaggs says. "We've heard about the place for a long time, and we're so excited about coming. We can hardly wait."
He might be a patriarch of bluegrass now, but Skaggs was once a mainstream country music superstar. Between 1981 and 1989, he racked up 11 No. 1 hits. Seven other singles cracked the top 10. And it started with a request from Los Angeles.
"I got a call from Emmylou [Harris] that Rodney Crowell was leaving and she wanted me to do harmonies and play multiple instruments," Skaggs says. "I just felt like it was time to expand my musical horizons and try to learn stuff other than bluegrass."
During his two and a half years with Harris' band, Skaggs cut a pair of albums for Sugar Hill Records, but he didn't step into the spotlight until the 1981 release of "Waitin' for the Sun to Shine."
"I went from singing background with Emmylou and playing fiddle, guitar and banjo to fronting my own band in about four months," Skaggs recalls. "It was pretty scary how quickly it happened."
Through all the success, Skaggs' faith helped him maintain a level head. He released an all-gospel album in 1999.
"I'm a Christian," Skaggs says. "My mother and dad taught me to pray and really trust God, not to trust people and not to trust myself, but know that He had a plan for my life."
By the early 1990s, the country-pop explosion was underway. Artists like Garth Brooks and Clint Black were filling arenas and crossing over to top 40 radio. Skaggs didn't like the direction in which Nashville was heading.
"I felt like country was really starting to change," says Skaggs. "I felt that it was really getting really pop again. It was all about the big show and swinging on a rope through the crowd. I just wasn't about that."
Both Skaggs' father and his mentor, Bill Monroe, died in 1996. Soon after, Skaggs formed his own record label and returned to his bluegrass roots. The company now supports roots musicians like Andy Leftwich and The Whites.
"I felt like when Mr. Monroe passed away that there really was going to be a change of leadership," Skaggs remarks. "There was going to need to be someone strong to encourage young people, but play good solid music and honor the past."
Skaggs was on to something. The movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and acts like Nickel Creek and Alison Krauss have helped project bluegrass into the mainstream.
"I think it's great," says Skaggs. "I think it's wonderful to get the music more exposed to the younger people and the airwaves."
He reached the under-30 crowd last year by collaborating with Jack White and The Raconteurs on the band's single "Old Enough."
"I started learning the fiddle part thinking maybe he wants me to play the fiddle," Skaggs recalls. "I called and they said they wanted to do a bluegrass version of it. [Jack] showed a lot of respect to me and what I've done in the past. I thought it was really great."
Skaggs doesn't ignore his old catalogue. Fans can expect hits like "Crying My Heart Out Over You" and "Highway 40 Blues." The songs will just have a more bluegrass flavor.
"We just did a CD for Cracker Barrel," Skaggs says. "You can hear ‘Honey Open That Door' and ‘Lovin' Only Me' and a bunch of my No. 1 country hits done bluegrass. They just really sound great."
Those country hits may have paid the bills, but Skaggs is happy to be right where he is, playing the music he loves and honoring his father.
"Growing up around my dad, there were a lot of songs," he recalls. "Since I've recorded this album, I've made a bunch of notes in my iPhone about Volume Two."
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will perform Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $36 to $58. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
