Alice Gerrard (born July 8, 1934) is an American bluegrass singer,

banjoist This article comprises two separate lists. The first consists of primary banjo players and the second of celebrities that also play the banjo. Primary banjo players A listing of notable musicians who play the banjo as a major part of thei ...

, fiddler, and

guitar player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

. She performed in a duo with

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...

, and as part of The Strange Creek Singers (with Dickens,

Mike Seeger Mike Seeger (August 15, 1933August 7, 2009) was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, a ...

, Tracy Schwarz, and Lamar Grier) and The Back Creek Buddies (with Matokie Slaughter). Gerrard was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. Her mother was from Yakima, Washington, and her father from Wigan in England. Gerrard attended

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

, where she was exposed to folk music. After college, she moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and became part of the thriving bluegrass scene there. Gerrard was married to Jeremy Foster who died in a car accident. She had four children with him. She was later married to

and recorded two albums with him. Garrard was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2017. The Alice Gerrard Collection (1954–2000) is located in the

Southern Folklife Collection The Southern Folklife Collection is an archival resource at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating traditional and vernacular music, art, and culture related to the American South. ...

of the Wilson Library of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. She founded and was editor-in-chief of The Old Time Herald from 1987 to 2000.

Discography

Alice Gerrard

*1994 - ''Pieces of My Heart'' (

Copper Creek Records Copper Creek Records is a record label based in Roanoke, Virginia specializing primarily in bluegrass and old-time music. History Spurred by his interest in the music of the Stanley Brothers, Gary B. Reid launched Copper Creek in October 1978. T ...

) *2002 - ''Calling Me Home: Songs of Love and Loss'' (Copper Creek Records) *2013 - ''Bittersweet'' (Spruce And Maple) *2014 - ''Follow the Music'' (

Tompkins Square Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...

)

With Hazel Dickens

*1965 - ''Who's That Knocking'' (Folkways LP) *1973 - ''Hazel & Alice'' (Rounder LP) *1973 - ''Won't You Come & Sing for Me'' (Folkways LP) *1976 - ''Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard'' (Rounder LP) *1996 - ''Pioneering Women of Bluegrass'' (

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...

) *2018 - ''Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969'' ( Free Dirt Records)

With Mike Seeger

*1970 - ''Mike and Alice Seeger Live in Japan'' (King LP) *1980 - ''Alice Gerrard & Mike Seeger'' eissued in its entirety on ''Bowling Green'' CD, 2008

Tom, Brad & Alice

*1998 - ''Been There Still'' *2000 - ''Holly Ding'' *2001 - ''We'll Die in the Pig Pen Fighting'' *2005 - ''Carve That Possum''

With Gail Gillespie and Sharon Sandomirsky

*2007 - ''The Road to Agate Hill: Music from Southwest Virginia and Beyond''

Compilations

*1979 - ''

Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten ( Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down. This po ...

, Volume 3: When I'm Gone'' ( Folkways Records) *1997 - ''Close to Home: Old Time Music from Mike Seeger's Collection, 1952-1967'' (Smithsonian Folkways) *2001 - ''There is No Eye: Music for Photographs'' (Smithsonian Folkways) *2002 - ''Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways'' (Smithsonian Folkways) *2002 - ''Classic Bluegrass from Smithsonian Folkways'' (Smithsonian Folkways) *2005 - ''Classic Bluegrass Vol. 2 from Smithsonian Folkways'' (Smithsonian Folkways)

Films

*''Homemade American Music'' Directed by Yasha Aginsky, Carrie Aginsky. Copyright: 1980. *''Hazel Dickens: It's Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song'' (2001). Directed by Mimi Pickering.

Whitesburg, Kentucky Whitesburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,139 at the 2010 census and an estimated 1,875 in 2018. It was named for C. White, a state politician. Geography Whitesbu ...

: Appalshop. *''You Gave Me a Song: The Life and Music of Alice Gerrard'' (2019). Directed by Kenny Dalsheimer. Durham, North Carolina: The Groove Productions.

Other

Her name appears in the lyrics of the

Le Tigre Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson for the rest ...

song "

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming ...

References

External links

Alice Gerrard biography

, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gerrard Discography
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerrard, Alice 1934 births Living people American banjoists American women singers American bluegrass musicians American folk singers Antioch College alumni Musicians from Seattle 21st-century American women