Bobby Osborne, born 1931, and Sonny Osborne, born 1937, lost their Roark, Kentucky home to a fire, moved to Hyden and then the Dayton, Ohio area, and were split by the Korean War: Bobby into the Marine Corps, Sonny into Bill Monroe's band on banjo. Reunited, they ground through Knoxville, Detroit, Wheeling, and Dayton with Jimmy Martin, Charlie Bailey, and finally Red Allen and Art Stamper before disc jockey Tommy Sutton helped land an MGM Records contract in 1956.

"Ruby, Are You Mad" introduced twin banjos to a bluegrass recording; a 1957 session added dobro and a drum kit; and the 1958 country hit "Once More" debuted the inverted stacked harmony that put Bobby's high lead on top. The episode follows the first bluegrass performance on a college campus at Antioch College in 1960, the Decca deal in 1963, Grand Ole Opry membership in 1964, "R ...