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Ricky Skaggscelebrates a career that helped revive traditional bluegrass and country music.
The musician, who has enjoyed a successful career spanning more than five decades, turns 72 on July 18, 2026. Born Rickie Lee Skaggs in Cordell, Kentucky, the musician started his career at the ripe age of five, when bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe invited a young Skaggs to perform with him. By age six, he was regularly performing on stage and, at seven, landed a TV appearance on the Flatt & Scruggs' variety show.
"Some of my earliest memories are of singing around the house with my mom. She was always singing to the radio, and I started harmonizing with her when I was four or five years old. That really sparked my dad’s excitement," he said in a 2026 interview with Gospel Music Association. "He was a welder working up in Ohio and brought me home a mandolin from a pawnshop. I woke up to it in my bed—I just loved the sound right away. I’m so thankful he bought something that fit my little five-year-old body."
Skaggs achieved mainstream fame in the early 1980s with his third, and debut major label album, Waitin' for the Sun to Shine. The record was released in May 1981 and immediately became a hit, with two of its singles soaring to the No. 1 spot on the charts. "Crying My Heart Out Over You" was Skaggs' first-ever chart-topping hit, taking first place on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, while "I Don't Care" reached the top spot shortly after.
The album defined a new era of music, ushering in the neotraditional country movement. His unique style paid off, as Skaggs has won an impressive 15 Grammy Awards over the course of his career. He won his first Grammy Award in 1983 for Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Fireball," and most recently, in 2016, for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.
In 2018, Skaggs was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 2020, he received the National Medal of Arts.
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