Ernie Thacker

Born: 14 Jun 1971 in Ohio. Died 10 Apr 2018 (aged 46) Pikeville, Pike County, Kentucky, USA . From Cleveland, Ohio. Lived in Haysi, Virginia (near Ralph Stanley’s hometown of McClure). From 1988-1994, sang lead and played both mandolin and guitar with Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. At 13 had a band called the Country Cousins. Two years later, a band called the Bluegrass Revelators. In 1994, left to form a group with another Clinch Mountain Boy, Junior Blankenship. Formed his own band in 1997, formed his own band called Route 23, named for a scenic highway in Virginia. In 2006, was seriously injured in an auto accident, leaving him paralyzed. 2008, confined to a wheelchair, recorded and released a new album Hangman (Pinecastle). In 2018, after a long battle with various physical problems, he passed away on April 10.