Jean Ritchie and the Folk Music Revival

Jean Ritchie and the Folk Music Revival explores the life and work of one of the most important figures in American folk music. From her humble beginnings in Kentucky to her influential work in the folk music scene of the 1950s and beyond, Ritchie’s story is one of passion, dedication, and love for the music.

Jean Ritchie’s Life and Career

Jean Ritchie was born in 1922 in Viper, Kentucky, the youngest of fourteen children. In the 1940s, she began to perform with her family at square dances and other local events. Ritchie’s first professional performances came in the early 1950s when she began playing the dulcimer at clubs in New York City. Ritchie’s involvement in the folk music scene of the 1950s and 1960s helped to revive interest in the traditional music of the Appalachians.

Ritchie’s early life and family

Jean Ritchie was born December 8, 1922 in Viper, Kentucky, the youngest child of mineralogist Abbie (née Cornett) and farmer Balis W. Ritchie. With eleven siblings, she learned the old songs and ballads from her family, who had emigrated to Kentucky from England in the late 18th century. Many of these songs were more than two hundred years old at the time. In an interview with Craig Havighurst, she said:

“Mother sang a lot of songs around the house. And Daddy sang ballads and love songs and just all kinds of songs. I think I probably knew more ballads then [than] anybody in my family because I was the youngest child and most likely to be where people were singing them or hearing them. And also, a lot of times my older brothers and sisters would go off somewhere to a party or on a date or something like that. And if I was sick or something, I couldn’t go, so I would stay at home with Mother and Daddy.”

Ritchie’s musical education

Jean Ritchie’s musical education began at home in Viper, Kentucky. The Ritchies were a musical family and often had music gatherings where Jean learned folk songs from her parents, grandparents, and other relatives. When she was ten years old, her family moved to New York City so her father could find work. There, she continued her musical education by taking guitar and banjo lessons and attending folk concerts.

In the early 1940s, Ritchie began college at Berea College in Kentucky. It was there that she met Mike Seeger, who would later introduce her to the folk music scene in Washington D.C. In 1947, she graduated from Berea with a degree in social work. After graduation, she moved to New York City and got married. She continued to play music and perform occasionally while also working as a social worker.

In the 1950s, the American Folk Music Revival began to gain momentum, and Ritchie became more involved in the music scene. She began playing at clubs and coffeehouses and recorded her first album in 1952. In 1956, she moved to England with her husband and two young children. While living there, she continued to perform and record music. She also became involved in the British Folk Revival scene and helped popularize American folk music in Europe.

Ritchie’s folk music career

Though Jean Ritchie is most commonly known for her work with the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, her career in music began long before then. Ritchie was born in 1922 into a family of traditional musicians in Viper, Kentucky. Her parents, J.P. and Abigail Ritchie, were both singers and songwriters who passed their love of music down to their children. From a young age, Ritchie was singing and playing music with her siblings; by the time she was a teenager, she was performing at local talent shows and festivals.

In 1939, Ritchie left Viper to attend Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. It was there that she met folklorist John Lomax, who would later help to launch her career. Lomax introduced Ritchie to the world of folk music collecting, and she soon became an eager participant in his fieldwork. In the early 1940s, Ritchie and Lomax traveled around Kentucky collecting traditional songs from the oral tradition. Many of these songs were published in Lomax’s book Folk Songs of North America; Ritchie’s name appeared as co-author on some of the songs.

After college, Ritchie moved to New York City where she continued to pursue her love of music. She performed at local clubs and coffeehouses, and also worked as a secretary for Folkways Records, a leading independent record label specializing in folk and world music. In 1950, she released her first album, Jean Ritchie Sings Folk Songs from Kentucky; the album was met with critical acclaim and helped to cement her reputation as a rising star in the folk music scene.

Ritchie’s career reached new heights in the 1960s with the onset of the folk music revival. Along with other artists like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Ritchie helped to popularize folk music among a new generation of listeners. She released several successful albums during this time period, including The Family Garland (1965) and Darling Corey (1968). In addition to her recorded work, Ritchie was also an active performer; she gave hundreds of concerts throughout the United States and Europe during her career.

Ritchie continued to record and perform until her retirement in 2009. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 92.

The Folk Music Revival

The folk music revival was a movement in the mid-20th century that saw the resurgence of interest in traditional and folk music. One of the driving forces behind the revival was Jean Ritchie, a singer, songwriter, and folklorist from Kentucky. In this article, we’ll take a look at Ritchie’s life and career, and how she helped to revitalize the folk music genre.

The origins of the folk music revival

In the early twentieth century, a group of music enthusiasts in the United States began collecting and performing folk songs from around the country. This movement, known as the folk music revival, had its roots in several earlier musical movements, including the urban blues scene and the Appalachian dulcimer tradition.

One of the most important figures in the folk revival was Jean Ritchie, a singer and songwriter from Kentucky who began collecting and performing traditional ballads in the 1940s. Ritchie’s work helped to popularize Appalachian music and folklore, and she is credited with inspiring a new generation of folk musicians, including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

The folk music revival in the United States

In the United States, the folk music revival began in the late 1940s and reached its height in the early 1960s. The revival introduced new audiences to the music of Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Burl Ives, Odetta, and Joan Baez. The most significant figure in the revival was Jean Ritchie, who popularized traditional songs from her native Kentucky. Ritchie’s work inspired a generation of singer-songwriters, including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

The folk music revival in the United Kingdom

The folk music revival in the United Kingdom was a phenomenon which began in the late 1950s and reached its height in the 1960s and 1970s. The craze for “roots music” led to a renewed interest in traditional music from all over the British Isles, as well as from North America and other parts of Europe. The revival was typified by the work of figures such as A. L. Lloyd, Ewan MacColl, Bert Lloyd, Shirley Collins, Davy Graham and Alexis Korner. It inspired a new wave of popular folk-rock bands such as Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention and Feyghe (later known as Fotheringay).

The revival brought traditional music to a whole new audience, many of whom were young people who would not have previously considered themselves to be interested in this type of music. It also had an important impact on the development of the British pop music industry, with many of the leading performers and producers of the 1960s and 1970s having started their careers in the folk scene.

One of the most significant aspects of the revival was the way in which it promoted cross-cultural exchange between different traditions. This was particularly evident in the work of figures such as Davey Graham and Bert Lloyd, who were instrumental in introducing African and other world music influences into British folk culture.

Jean Ritchie and the Folk Music Revival

Jean Ritchie was a central figure in the twentieth-century American folk music revival. A singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, Ritchie is best known for her contributions to the development of the Appalachian dulcimer and for popularizing the instrument through her performances and recordings. Ritchie’s music was deeply rooted in the Appalachian folk tradition, and her songs often dealt with the themes of home, family, and the natural world.

Ritchie’s contribution to the folk music revival

While the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s is often thought of as a phenomenon led by male musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, Jean Ritchie was one of its most important – and unlikely – figures. A middle-class housewife from Kentucky, Ritchie began collecting and singing traditional songs as a child. In the 1940s, she began performing with her family at square dances and fiddle contests; in the 1950s, she moved to New York City and became involved in the nascent folk music scene there. In 1952, she met Alan Lomax, the renowned folklorist, who would help her to record and release her first album, Jean Ritchie Sings Traditional Songs from Kentucky (1955).

Ritchie’s clear, pure voice and her deft banjo-playing quickly won her a devoted following among folk fans. Her gentle style was in stark contrast to the more aggressive approach of male musicians like Dylan and Seeger, but her gutsy performances of traditional songs like “Barb’ry Allen” and “Black Jack Davy” earned her the respect of even the most hard-core revivalists. Ritchie continued to perform and record throughout her life; in 2009, at the age of 87, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.

Ritchie’s influence on the folk music revival

The folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s owed a great deal to the work of Jean Ritchie. A singer, songwriter, and banjo player from Kentucky, Ritchie was a key figure in collecting and popularizing traditional songs from her home state and elsewhere. Her work helped to inspire a new generation of folk musicians, including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

The legacy of Jean Ritchie and the folk music revival

Jean Ritchie was a central figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. Her songwriting, singing, and playing on the Appalachian dulcimer popularized traditional folk music and helped to shape the sounds of the folk music revival.

Ritchie’s songs are known for their simple melodies and down-to-earth lyrics. She often wrote about her own experiences growing up in Appalachia and the hard work required to sustain a life there. Her songs offered a rare glimpse into the lives of Appalachian people at a time when their way of life was under threat from outside forces such as industrialization and modernization.

Ritchie’s work helped to preserve the traditional folk music of Appalachia and ensured that it would be heard by future generations. She is remembered as one of the most important figures of the folk music revival movement.