No one sang better harmonies than the Louvin Brothers. Here’s a clip of them playing one of their secular hits on the Grand Ole Opry:

Ira used to modify his mandolins to lengthen the scale. One of his modified Gibsons is on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was famously self-conscious about his playing, and was said to be deeply wounded when Capitol producer Ken Nelson moved the band towards a more cosmopolitan, mandolin-free sound.

Here’s a decent BBC piece with some more footage:

Edward Burch, Andy Leach, and I performed the Louvin’s masterpiece Satan is Real in its entirity this summer with the help of Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen. It was a good time. Hopefully we’ll do it again someday.