Sonny Osborne

Born on October 29, 1937, in Thousandsticks, Kentucky,[1] Sonny Osborne's father was a farmer, teacher, and amateur banjo, guitar, and fiddle player.

A prodigy on the instrument,[4] Osborne joined his brother in playing with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in the summer of 1951, but returned to Ohio that autumn after Bobby left for the United States Marine Corps.

In summer 1952 (at 14-years-old),[2] Sonny Osborne was hired by bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe, with whom he performed and recorded on the Grand Ole Opry.

In 1963, they debuted at the Grand Ole Opry, signed with Decca Records, and evolved their sound with the mildly-successful release of "Up This Hill and Down": "bluegrass [, ...] kind of bluesy and a little bit of rock.

"[2] It was 1967 when the brothers recorded and released their famous song, "Rocky Top" (written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant)[4] with 80,000 sales in its first month.

After retiring in 2005 due to rotator cuff surgery,[3] Osborne wrote a regular column for Bluegrass Today and continued to correspond with fans.