American Folk Musicians Team up for Two CD Tribute to Jean Ritchie

Well-known American folk and roots music artists got together to record Dear Jean: Artists Celebrate The Music Of Jean Ritchie (Compass Records), scheduled for release on September 2, 2014.

The 37 track, 2 CD set includes performances from an extraordinary grouping of Ritchie’s fans and admirers, all of whom have come together to honor the living legacy of the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter many refer to as “The Mother of Folk.”

Contributors were intentionally selected to represent the diversity of musical genres and generations Ritchie has influenced throughout her life, with classic artists like Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, Tim O’Brien, Robin and Linda Williams, Oscar Brand, and Dale Ann Bradley sharing the spotlight with up and coming talents like the Starry Mountain Singers, Rachael Davis, and Matt Brown.

Highlightys include “The L & N Don’t Stop Here Anymore” (Robin and Linda Williams), “I’ve Got a Mother” (The Starry Mountain Singers), “Black Waters” (Kathy Mattea, Suzy Boggus, Tim O’Brien), “Morning Come, Maria’s Gone” (Janis Ian) and “One I Love” (Judy Collins). There is also a spoken word version of “I Celebrate Life” from Pete Seeger, one of his last recordings.

Jean Ritchie was born in 1922 in Berea, Kentucky, the youngest of 14 children. Ritchie grew up immersed in the traditional songs of the region and moved to New York in the 1940s where, as a social worker, she taught music to children. She also befriended Pete Seeger, Oscar Brand, Woody Guthrie and Alan Lomax during this time and, in the 1950s, recorded several albums for Electra.

In the early 1960s she received a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to the UK and Ireland to collect traditional songs. Ritchie’s songs have been recorded by a variety of artists including Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash and Judy Collins.

Over the course of her career, Jean Ritchie’s song collecting and song writing has helped to preserve the musical legacy of her Kentucky home, as well as expand awareness of its challenges through her continued support of the grassroots environmental organization Appalachian Voices and politically pointed songs such as “The L & N” and “Black Waters”.

Buy a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LHVZMCW?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00LHVZMCW&linkCode=xm2&tag=musidelmund-20″>Dear Jean: Artists Celebrate The Music Of Jean Ritchie