Folklives #11: Jean Ritchie
Monday, Dec 3, 2007
This week, Folklives spends some time with an icon of the Folk Revival, ballad singer Jean Ritchie. Growing up in Kentucky in the 1920s and 30s, Jean learned the old ballads and tunes that, in the 1950s and 60s, fueled a growing interest in American folk music, especially among young musicians driven to learn from Appalachian musicians.
Jean has played an enormously important role in the preservation and popularization of American folk music, through her research, recording, and performing career. In some way or another, anyone who has been touched by a haunting a cappella ballad has been drawn into Jean's legacy.
Length: 8:04
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The music in this podcast was drawn from Northwest Folklife's archival audio recordings.
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Jean recording at WNYC for Oscar Brand's Folk Song Festival,1950 ( © George Pickow)