Reflections on the Life of Bobby Osborne

As a child, I recall listening to countless cassette tapes while sitting in the living room with my mama and brothers. I came to heavily associate familiar songs like “Rocky Top”, “Ruby”, and “Big Spike Hammer” with the Osborne Brothers. They were truly one of my favorite bluegrass bands as a child and their music really helped shaped my musical taste. I now play in the Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble and love the genre. The way that bands like theirs influenced my musical taste leaves me wondering about the many lives influenced by the work of people like Bobby Osborne.

Bobby Osborne grew up in Thousandsticks, Kentucky, a little over a half hour from where I live. He dropped out of school and formed a band with his brother, Sonny Osborne. He served in the Marines during the Korean War before returning home and rejoining his brother, Sonny. Since bluegrass music, especially early on, was known for the “high, lonesome” sound of the tenor singing, Bobby Osborne’s voice was perfect for the genre. Listening to songs like “Ruby” are a perfect example of this.

When I was a teenager I went with my aunt Wilma to The Osborne Brothers Festival in Hyden, Kentucky, just a little ways over the county line, and was starstruck. At the time, I was in high school and hadn’t been playing guitar for very long. I had just began attempting to sing and play bluegrass. I bought a cheap mandolin at a flea market and took it with me to the festival. After their set, I walked up and asked Bobby Osborne if he would sign my mandolin, and he did. I was so happy, and I hung my mandolin up on my wall in my bedroom and never played it again for fear of the signature fading away. I remember that, even in his old age, he sang “Ruby” with such power, and I was in awe. And don’t even get me started on when they sang “Rocky Top”!

The blend of harmony that Sonny and Bobby had is one you don’t find too often. As someone who has sang harmony with tons of people in many different groups, I know that even when people can hold their part pretty well and not go flat, sometimes the blend/tonality of people’s voices just doesn’t mesh. With the Osborne Brothers, it was a match that is hard to find and harder to beat, which, as they were brothers, makes sense. Many bands with siblings also have this similar type of blend. These early bluegrass harmonies were what I grew up hearing, and long before I ever learned the word “harmony”, I was able to pick out the parts from these songs just from hearing them so much. Singing these songs and many old hymns with my older brother started my love for music.

Hearing of Bobby Osborne’s passing on June 27, 2023, hit me a bit harder than I expected it to. As I went to practice bass later in the day, I took a moment before singing through “Rocky Top”, which I had learned on bass just weeks before his passing. I thought about the sheer number of Bluegrass fans and musicians who picked up their instruments and played this piece, trying to play it at the speed of the Osborne Brothers, practicing their technique but also having a good time. I took a break from practicing bass and sat down to play it on my guitar. I needed to, and there’s nothing like a moonshinin' song on a hard day, we all know. I found myself wondering “How many voices sang this song, honing in on the version they’d heard the Osborne Brothers sing/play while they were young? How many lives were touched by their music, and how many musicians’ entire paths in life were influenced by Bobby and Sonny? I imagine that it must be a number larger than they probably ever knew.

As I remember Bobby’s influence on the genre of Bluegrass music, I’m reminded that he and Sonny were two Eastern Kentucky boys with a love of music and a dream of performing. It reminds me that it’s possible to be from the region and still be able to go do what you love successfully. They loved playing music and pursued it with passion, and knowing that inspires mountain gals like me to do the same. And with their love of music, I can’t help but think that maybe there’s a reunion happening right now between them and they’re playing together again.

Article Written by Charity Gilbert