Carl Story; Bluegrass Star

Carl Story, 78, who was known as the father of bluegrass gospel music. Story formed the The Ramblin’ Mountaineers band in 1934, and the group got its start performing on radio station WHKY in Hickory, N.C. He went on to record more than 65 gospel albums, most of them on the Starday label. As bluegrass became increasingly popular in the 1950s and 1960s, Story’s merging of its traditional rural sound with church music won him a wide following and a reputation as a pioneer. He and his band specialized in a hard-core mountain style of bluegrass gospel singing. Among their best known songs was “Light at the River.” On Friday in Greer, S.C., after suffering from heart disease.