Beginning in the late 1970s, Skaggs turned his attention to country music. With the release of Waitin' for the Sun to Shine in 1981, Skaggs moved to the top of the country charts. He remained there through most of the 1980s -- long enough to earn a spot in Billboard's Top 20 artists of the decade and top 100 of the past 50 years. Ricky's popularity (24 singles in Billboard's Top 20, including 12 No. 1s) was matched by his esteem among critics and fellow musicians. The result: eight awards from the Country Music Association, including entertainer of the year in 1985, six Grammys and dozens of other honors. Important as personal successes, these achievements also placed him front and center in the neo-traditionalist movement.

With a record like that, and with the country music industry's increasingly narrow, crossover-hungry orientation in the 1990s, the way was paved for a return to country music's most down-to-earth form, bluegrass. That's the road Skaggs has chosen to take him into the new century. From his former position as host of the Monday Night Concerts at the Ryman series on TNN to his role as master of ceremonies at the International Bluegrass Music Association's annual awards show, he has become one of bluegrass' most talented and dynamic performers.

Skaggs now runs his own record label, Skaggs Family Records, and sister label Ceili Music. His first release, Bluegrass Rules!, won a Grammy and an IBMA award. Following successful tours with the Dixie Chicks and the Down From the Mountain tour, Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder released Live at Charleston Music Hall in 2003. That same year, he joined Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson for the concert album and DVD The Three Pickers. Between the two projects, he received five Grammy nominations, and won one for his bluegrass hit single, 'A Simple Life.'