Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and

Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of ...

player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way (orally, from her family and community), many of which were Appalachian variants of centuries old British and Irish songs, including dozens of

Child Ballads The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...

. In adulthood, she shared these songs with wide audiences, as well as writing some of her own songs using traditional foundations. She is ultimately responsible for the revival of the

, the traditional instrument of her community, which she popularized by playing the instrument on her albums and writing tutorial books. She also spent time collecting folk music in the United States and in Britain and Ireland, in order to research the origins of her family songs and help preserve traditional music. She inspired a wide array of musicians, including

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

and

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

Out of Kentucky

Family

Jean Ritchie was born to Abigail (née Hall) Ritchie (1877-1972) and Balis Wilmar Ritchie (1869-1958) of Viper, an unincorporated community in

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States * Perry County, Alabama * Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois * Perry County, Indiana * Perry County, Kentucky * Perry County, Mississippi * Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perr ...

in the Cumberland Mountains of southeastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. The Ritchies of Perry County were one of the two "great ballad-singing families" of Kentucky celebrated among folk song scholars (the other was the Combs family of adjacent Knott County, whose repertoire formed the basis of the first scholarly work on the British ballads in America, a doctoral thesis by Professor Josiah Combs of Berea College for the Sorbonne University published in Paris in 1925). Balis Wilmer Ritchie

Jean's father Balis had printed up a book of old songs entitled ''Lovers' Melodies'' in 1910 or 1911, which contained the most popular songs in Hindman at that time, including " Jackaro," " Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender," " False Sir John and May Colvin" and " The Lyttle Musgrave." However, Balis preferred playing the

to singing, often singing entire ballads in his head along with his dulcimer playing. In 1917, the folk music collector Cecil Sharp collected songs from Jean's older sisters May (1896-1982) and Una (1900–1989), whilst her sister Edna (1910-1997) also learnt the old ballads, much later releasing her own album of traditional songs with dulcimer accompaniment. Most of the Ritchie siblings seemed dedicated to performing and preserving traditional music. Many of the Ritchies attended the Hindman Settlement School, a folk school where students were encouraged to cherish their own backgrounds and where Sharp found many of his songs. It is possible that many of the Ritchies' songs were absorbed from neighbors, relatives, friends, school mates and even books, as well as being passed through the family. The paternal ancestors of the Ritchie family, Alexander Ritchie (1724-1787) and his son James Ritchie Sr. (1757-1818) of Stewarton,

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, emigrated to the United States. James Ritchie Sr. fought in the Revolutionary War in 1776 (including at the

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virg ...

), and lived in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

before settling on Carr Creek Lake in what is now Knott County,

, with his family. When he drowned in the lake in 1818, his family moved back to Virginia except his son Alexander Crockett Ritchie (1778-1878), Jean Ritchie's great-great grandfather. Most of the Ritchies later fought on the Confederate Side in the Civil War, including Jean's paternal grandfather Justice Austin Ritchie (1834-1899), who was 2nd

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

of Company C of the 13th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry.

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, s ...

wrote that:

They were quiet, thoughtful folks, who went in for ballads, big families and educating their children. Jean's grandmother was a prime mover in the Old Regular Baptist Church, and all the traditional hymn tunes came from her. Jean's Uncle Jason was a lawyer, who remembers the big ballads like " Lord Barnard". Jean's father taught school, printed a newspaper, fitted specs, farmed and sent ten of his fourteen children to college.

Her "uncle" Jason (1860-1959), who was actually her father's cousin and practiced law whilst owning a farm in Talcum, Knott County, Kentucky. He was the source of several of Jean Ritchie's songs and Cecil Sharp narrowly missed meeting him in 1917, stating in his diary that "they couldn't get hold of him".

Early life

As the youngest of 14 siblings, Ritchie was one of ten girls who slept in one room of the farming family's farm house. She was quick to memorize songs and performed at local dances and at county fairs, winning blue ribbons in

Hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probab ...

, the county seat. Ritchie and her family sang for entertainment, but also to accompany manual work. When the family gathered to sing songs, they chose from a repertoire of over than 300 songs including

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s, old

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s, and popular songs by composers such as Stephen Foster, which were mostly learnt orally and sung unaccompanied. The Ritchies would sing improvised harmonies to accompany some of their songs, including "

Pretty Saro ''Pretty Saro'' (Roud 417) is an English folk ballad originating in the early 1700s. The song died out in England by the mid eighteenth century but was rediscovered in North America (particularly in the Appalachian Mountains) in the early twenti ...

". It was only when the family acquired a radio in the late 1940s that they discovered what they had been singing was called hillbilly music. Ritchie graduated from high school in Viper and enrolled in Cumberland Junior College (now a four-year University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and from there graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

with a B.A. in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

in 1946. At college she participated in the glee club and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and learned to play

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

. According to Ritchie,

Maud Karpeles Maud Karpeles (12 November 1885 – 1 October 1976) was a British collector of folksongs and dance teacher. Early life and education Maud Pauline Karpeles was born at Lancaster Gate in Bayswater, London, in 1885. She was the third of five child ...

later said " itchiecannot be termed a folksinger, because she has been to college," which she took as a compliment. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she taught in an elementary school. In 1946, whilst still in Kentucky, Ritchie was recorded performing traditional songs with her sisters Edna, Kitty and Pauline by Emily Elizabeth Barnacle and by

Artus Moser Artus Moser (1894–1992) was an American folklorist, educator and musician who collected hundreds of folk songs in his native Western North Carolina and the Appalachian Mountains. Moser grew up in Swannanoa and served in the First World War. He t ...

New York

After graduating she got a job as a social worker at the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...

in New York, where she taught her Appalachian songs and traditions to local children. This caught the attention of folk singers, scholars, and enthusiasts based in New York, and she befriended

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

Oscar Brand Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, and

. To many, Ritchie represented the ideal traditional musician, due to her rural upbringing, dulcimer playing, and the fact her songs came from within her family. In 1948, Ritchie shared a stage with

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fro ...

, and Betty Sanders at the Spring Fever

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder nam ...

. By October 1949, she was a regular guest on

's Folksong Festival radio show on

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

. In 1949 and 1950, she recorded several hours of songs, stories, and oral history for Lomax in New York City. All of Lomax's recordings of Ritchie are available online courtesy of the Lomax Digital Archive. She was recorded extensively for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in 1951. By 1951, Ritchie became a full-time singer, folksong collector, and songwriter.

Elektra records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

signed her and she released her first album of family songs, ''

Singing the Traditional Songs of Her Kentucky Mountain Family ''Singing the Traditional Songs of Her Kentucky Mountain Family'' is the first studio album of American folk singer Jean Ritchie. It was released in 1952 by Elektra Records. The album consists of renditions of traditional Appalachian folk songs, s ...

'' (1952), which included family versions of such songs as " Gypsum Davy", " The Cuckoo" and " The Little Devils", a song which had particularly fascinated Cecil Sharp when he heard it from Una and Sabrina Ritchie in 1917.

The Fulbright expedition

Image reproduced by permission of the National Folklore Collection, University Dublin

In 1952, Ritchie was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to trace the links between American ballads and the songs from England, Scotland and Ireland. As a song-collector, she began by setting down the 300 songs that she already knew from her mother's knee. Ritchie and her husband

George Pickow George Pickow (February 11, 1922 – December 10, 2010) was an American photographer and filmmaker who chronicled the folk and jazz music scenes in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries. He was married to the well-known Kentucky f ...

spent 18 months tape recording, interviewing and photographing singers, including

Elizabeth Cronin Elizabeth "Bess" Cronin ( ga, Eibhlís Uí Chróinín, italic=no; 29 May 18792 June 1956) was an influential singer of Irish traditional music in the sean-nós style. She sang hundreds of songs which she learnt as a youth, half of which were in ...

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

and

Sarah Makem Sarah Makem (18 October 1900 – 20 April 1983) a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer. She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of ...

Leo Rowsome Leo Rowsome (5 April 1903 - 20 September 1970) was the third generation of an unbroken line of uilleann pipers. He was a performer, manufacturer and teacher of the uilleann pipes throughout his life. Samuel Rowsome, Leo’s grandfather sent hi ...

, and

Seamus Ennis Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus Mc ...

in Ireland,

Jeannie Robertson Jeannie Robertson (1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer. Her most celebrated song is "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by Archie Fisher, The Dubliners, The McCalmans, ...

and

Jimmy MacBeath Jimmy MacBeath (1894–1972) was a Scottish Traveller and Traditional singer of the Bothy Ballads from the north east of Scotland. He was both a mentor and source for fellow singers during the mid 20th century British folk revival. He had a hug ...

in Scotland, and

Harry Cox Harry Fred Cox (27 March 1885 – 6 May 1971), was a Norfolk farmworker and one of the most important singers of traditional English music of the twentieth century, on account of his large repertoire and fine singing style. His music inspired ...

and Bob Roberts in England. When people asked what sort of songs they were looking for, Ritchie would sometimes ask them if they knew Barbara Allen and sing a few verses for them. In 1954, Ritchie released some of the British and Irish recordings on the album ''Field Trip'', side by side with Ritchie family versions of the same songs; a broader selection was issued by Folkways on the two LPs ''Field Trip–England'' (1959) and ''As I Roved Out (Field Trip–Ireland)'' (1960). Some transcriptions and photographs were later published in Ritchie’s book ''From Fair to Fair: Folksongs of the British Isles'' (1966). Whilst in Britain, Ritchie sang at concerts for the

English Folk Dance and Song Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...

, including its annual

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

festival, and presented several

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

programmes, appearing on "Ballad Hunter" which was presented by her friend

. On one occasion,

took Ritchie and Pickow to visit

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

and his wife Ursula, for whom she sang " Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies"; Pickow photographed the four of them together.

Musical achievements

In 1955 Ritchie wrote a book about her family called ''Singing Family of the Cumberlands''. The book documented the role of the family songs in everyday life, such as accompanying everyday tasks on the farm and in the home, or being sung when gathered on the porch in the evening to “sing the moon up”. ''Singing Family of the Cumberlands'' is widely regarded as an American classic, and continues to be used in American schools. As well as work songs and ballads, Ritchie knew hymns from the "

Old Regular Baptist The Old Regular Baptist Religious denomination, denomination is one of the oldest in Appalachia with roots in both the Regular Baptists, Regular and Separate Baptists of the American Colonies and the Particular Baptist of Great Britain. This group ...

" church she attended in Jeff, Kentucky. These were sung as "lining out" songs, in a lingering soulful way, including the song "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

", which she helped popularize. Family versions of "Amazing Grace" and the hymn " Brightest And Best" were released on the 1959 album ''Jean Ritchie Interviews Her Family, With Documentary Recordings''. Ritchie directed and sang at the first

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

in 1959, and served on the first folklore panel for the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Her album '' Ballads from Her Appalachian Family Tradition'' (1961) compiled many traditional Ritchie family versions of

, including False Sir John, Hangman, Lord Bateman, Barbary Allen, There Lived an Old Lord (Two Sisters), Cherry Tree Carol and

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

. Her traditional version of "My Dear Companion" ( Roud 411) appeared on the album ''Trio'' recorded by

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, and

recorded some of Ritchie's traditional songs, "Tender Ladies" and "

", and also used a photograph by

on the front of her album " Golden Apples of the Sun" (1962). In 1963, Ritchie recorded an album with

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

entitled ''Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson Live at Folk City'' (1963). The traditional Appalachian song " Shady Grove" was popularized by

after he most likely learnt it from Jean Ritchie, who in turn learnt it from her father Balis Ritchie. As folk music became more popular in the 1960s, new political songs overshadowed the traditional ballads. Whilst Ritchie largely stuck to the traditional songs, she wrote and recorded

-themed songs with wider implications, such as the destruction of the environment by loggers and the strip-mining techniques of coal firms. These songs included "Blue Diamond Mines", "Black Waters" and " The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore", which was covered by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, after he heard his wife

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

singing it. Ritchie's had written numerous songs about mining under the pseudonym "'Than Hall", to avoid troubling her non-political mother, and believing they might be better received if attributed to a man. ''

Nottamun Town Nottamun Town, also known under other titles such as "Nottingham Fair" and "Fair Nottamon Town" (Roud # 1044) is an American folk song. Although sometimes suggested to be an English song of medieval origin brought to North America during the earl ...

'' (which Ritchie had learned from her uncle Jason and performed in 1954 on '' Kentucky Mountains Songs'' and in 1965 on ''A Time For Singin'') was covered by

(1964),

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

(1966) and

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

(1969), and the tune was used by

for his 1963 song "

Masters of War "Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962–63 and released on the album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional songs, traditional "Nottamun Town." ...

" on the album ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...

''. From her uncle Jason (actually her father's first cousin), Ritchie had learnt to alter tunes and lyrics from verse-to-verse and performance-to-performance, viewing elements of improvisation and variation as a natural part of traditional music. Her versions of family songs and original compositions vary slightly between performances, and she often created new songs by using bits of material from existing ones or adding newly composed verses to flesh out song fragments she recalled from her childhood. Unfortunately, Cecil Sharp had failed to arrange a meeting with Jason Ritchie when he stayed in Knott County in 1917. Her record

None But One ''None but One'' is a studio album released by American singer Jean Ritchie in 1977 on Sire LP record SA-7530. The album was a stylistic departure for Ritchie in that it featured "modern" instruments and production values. It resulted in signif ...

(1977), which won the 1977 critics’ award in

Rolling Stone magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...

, introduced her music to a younger audience, and secured her place in mainstream folk music. Her 50th anniversary album was ''Mountain Born'' (1995), which features her two sons, Peter and Jonathan. Ritchie was the subject of the 1996 documentary ''Mountain Born: The Jean Ritchie Story'', which was made for

Kentucky Educational Television Kentucky Educational Television (KET) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is operated by the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, an agency of the Kentucky state governm ...

The dulcimer revival

Ritchie is credited with bringing national and international attention to the

as the main initiator of the "dulcimer revival", although she preferred to sing unaccompanied, only occasionally accompanying herself on

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

or a handmade plucked

. Distinct from the hammer dulcimer, the Appalachian dulcimer (or "mountain dulcimer") is an intimate indoor instrument with a soft, ethereal sound, probably first played by Appalachian Scotch-Irish immigrants in the early nineteenth century. The Ritchies strummed their dulcimers with a goose-feather quill. Her father Balis (1869-1958) had played the Appalachian dulcimer but forbade his children to touch it, but aged four or five, Ritchie defied this prohibition and picked out "

Go Tell Aunt Rhody "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" is an English language folk song of nineteenth-century American origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3346. The tune is older, dating to the 18th century. It originated as a gavotte in the 1752 opera ''Le devin ...

". By 1949, her dulcimer playing had become a hallmark of her style. After her husband

made her one as a present, the couple decided there might be a potential market for them, and Pickow's uncle, Morris Pickow, set up an instrument workshop for them under the

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressw ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. At first they were shipped to New York in an unfinished state by Ritchie's Kentucky relative, Jethro Amburgey, then the woodworking instructor at the Hindman Settlement School. George did the finishing and Jean did the tuning and soon they had sold 300 dulcimers. Later they manufactured them themselves from start to finish. Ritchie's use of the dulcimer, and her tutorial ''The Dulcimer Book'' (1974), inspired folk revival musicians both in the US and Britain to record songs using the instrument. Today there are dulcimers for sale at most folk festivals. Because fans kept asking her "Which album has the most dulcimer?", she finally recorded an album called ''The Most Dulcimer'' in 1984, which included the dulcimer on every song.

Personal life and death

Ritchie was married to photographer

from 1950 until his death in 2010, with whom she had two sons, Peter (1954-) and Jonathan (1958-2020). She lived in Port Washington, New York, and was inducted into the

Long Island Music Hall of Fame The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents, as a nonprofit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York. It recognizes ...

in 2008. In early December 2009, Ritchie was hospitalized after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

which impaired her ability to communicate. She recovered to some degree then returned to her home in

Berea, Kentucky Berea is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, Madison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The town is best known for its art festivals, historic restaurants and buildings, and as the home to Berea Coll ...

. A friend reported on her 90th birthday, "Jean has been living quietly in Berea for the last few years, in good spirits and well cared for by neighbors and family." She died at home in Berea on June 1, 2015, aged 92.

Discography

*''

'' (1952) *''Appalachian Folk Songs: Black-eyed Susie, Goin' to Boston, Lovin' Hanna (195-) *'' Kentucky Mountains Songs'' (1954) *''Field Trip'' (1954) *''Courting Songs'' (1954) (with

) *''Shivaree'' (1955) *''Children's Songs & Games from the Southern Mountains'' (1956) *''Songs from Kentucky'' (1956) *''American Folk Tales and Songs'' (1956) *''Saturday Night and Sunday Too'' (1956) *''

Singing Family of the Cumberlands Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

'' (1957) *''The Ritchie Family of Kentucky'' (1958) *''Riddle Me This'' (1959) (with Oscar Brand) *'' Carols for All Seasons'' (1959) *''British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains, Vol. 1'' Folkways (1961) (Child ballads) *''British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains, Vol. 2'' Folkways FA 2302 (1961) (Child ballads) Lifton, Sarah (1983) ''The Listener's Guide to Folk Music''. Poole: Blandford Press; pp. 96-97 *''Ballads'' (2003; vol. 1 and 2 above, issued on a single CD) *'' Ballads from Her Appalachian Family Tradition'' (1961) *''Precious Memories'' (1962) *''The Appalachian Dulcimer: An Instructional Record'' (1963) *''Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson Live at Folk City'' (1963) *''A Time For Singing'' (1965) *''Marching Across the Green Grass & Other American Children's Game Songs'' (1968) *''Clear Waters Remembered'' (1974) Geordie 101 *''Jean Ritchie At Home'' (1974) Pacific Cascade Records LPL 7026 *''

'' (1977) * Sweet Rivers (1981) June Appal JA 037 (hymns) *''Christmas Revels. Wassail! Wassail!'' (1982) *''O Love Is Teasin (1985) *''Kentucky Christmas, Old and New'' (1987) *''Childhood Songs'' (1991) *''The Most Dulcimer '' (1992) *''Mountain Born'' (1995) *''High Hills and Mountains'' (1996) *''Legends of Old Time Music'' (2002, DVD)

Bibliography

* * * *Ritchie, Jean (1965/1997) ''Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians'' . The original 1965 edition was issued by Oak Publications, the 1997 expanded version by

University Press of Kentucky The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...

. The task of transcribing Ritchie's sung music into musical notation was carried out (1965) by Melinda Zacuto and Jerry Silverman. *''Jean Ritchie's Swapping Song Book'' *''Jean Ritchie's Dulcimer People'' (1975) * *

Awards and honors

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

Critics Award in (1977) for her album ''None But One'' * Folk Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement (1998) *

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

(2002) awarded by the

, the highest honor for folk and traditional arts in the United States

References

External links

Live 1976 recording of Ritchie performing "Nottamun Town" from the Florida Folklife Collection (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)

Photographs of Jean Ritchie while artist in residence at UC Santa Cruz in 1978, from the UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections

Videos on Woodsongs Archive
*#159: She sang and played her dulcimer as sole guest in 2000
84 minutes.
*#450: Was as one of 3 guests in "Celebration of the Mountain Dulcimer" July 7, 2007
94 minutes.Jean Ritchie, 1922–2015 Folklife Today; Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Jean 1922 births 2015 deaths American folk singers Songwriters from Kentucky American women singers American folk musicians American folklorists Women folklorists American musicologists American women musicologists Appalachian dulcimer players Appalachian culture American folk-song collectors National Heritage Fellowship winners Folk musicians from Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni People from Perry County, Kentucky Elektra Records artists Riverside Records artists Tradition Records artists Musicians from Appalachia People from Port Washington, New York American women songwriters Singers from Kentucky Flying Fish Records artists 21st-century American women Fulbright alumni

Out of Kentucky

Family

Early life

New York

The Fulbright expedition

Musical achievements

The dulcimer revival

Personal life and death

Discography

Bibliography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links