Ricky Skaggs is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer from Kentucky. He's had an influential and acclaimed career spanning decades. At the beginning of his career in the early 1970s, Skaggs started out singing and playing mandolin, fiddle, and banjo in Ralph Stanley's bluegrass band. He then branched out to form his own bluegrass bands, before moving on to a more mainstream country sound in the early 1980s. He went on to have major commercial success in both traditional country and pop crossover genres with numerous number one hits, earning him many awards throughout his career, including 11 Grammys. Skaggs was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame.