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Paul Clayton
Paul Clayton
American musician
1
Texas Gladden
Texas Gladden
American musician
2
John Jacob Niles
John Jacob Niles
American musician
3
Hedy West
Hedy West
American folksinger and songwriter
4
Lily May Ledford
Lily May Ledford
American musician
5
Loraine Wyman
Loraine Wyman
American folksinger
6
Bradley Kincaid
Bradley Kincaid
American singer
7
Guy Carawan
Guy Carawan
American musician and musicologist
8
Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Bascom Lamar Lunsford
American musician and lawyer
9
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax
American music historian, field collector, producer and filmmaker
10
Bess Lomax Hawes
Bess Lomax Hawes
American folk musician and folklorist
11
Shirley Collins
Shirley Collins
British folk singer
Jean Ritchie
American folk singer

Jean Ritchie

Intro
American folk singer
Record Labels
Awards Received
Kentucky Women Remembered
Fulbright Scholarship

Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer 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. 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 Appalachian dulcimer, 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, Joan Baez, Shirley Collins, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris and Judy Collins.