Candace Randolph was born and raised in the rural farm land near Aledo, Illinois where her love of music first began. She learned to play guitar at an early age and soon after took up the 5 string banjo. By the age of seven, Candace was traveling the highways playing hard-driving bluegrass music with The Lost Kentuckians, which consisted of her mother Hope, father Curt and sister Darith. The next few years were filled with many hours learning and developing tight harmony Appalachian parts singing while driving to the next venue to perform and riding “shotgun” to keep her Father company, ”making up songs” all the while, which soon turned into her passion. The Lost Kentuckians went on to record three albums during their reign, many of the recordings were originals written by Candace.
By the age of twelve she was already a seasoned professional taking the stage with such renowned musicians as Keith Whitley and Bill Monroe, gaining their respect for her skills as a banjo player, guitar picker and songwriter . By the age of fourteen she had an endorsement any writer would be proud of as four of her songs were recorded by the legendary Ralph Stanley on “The Stanley Sound Today”.A review of this album in the Washington Post likened her writing to that of Carter Stanley himself . Evidently , Carter’s brother Ralph felt the same way as he went on to record another of her songs on his “Lonesome and Blue” album.
Indeed her songs have appealed to and been recorded by some of the best artists in the Bluegrass genre, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Dry Branch Fire Squad, Ralph Stanley II on his Grammy nominated album “Stanley Blues” , and The Lost Kentuckians to name a few. Candace’s recent collaboration with Jim Lauderdale resulted in three songs co-written with Jim which appear on “Lost In The Lonesome Pines” . The album won the Grammy in 2003 for Best Bluegrass Album.
True life experiences inform the songs Candace writes,…she writes what she knows and sings and plays straight from the heart with the determination of a singer confident in herself and her path.