Hazel Dickens

Bluegrass, singer-songwriter, protest music

Hazel Dickens's work spans the reach of bluegrass, country and singer-songwriterly protest music, and may be of interest to fans of the Carter Family, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Pete Seeger, and the New Lost City Ramblers.

"Times Are Not What They Used to Be"
"Mama's Hand"
"Tiny Broken Heart"

Hazel & Alice (Rounder, 1978)

Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People (Rounder, 1981)

It's Hard to Tell the Singer From the Song (Rounder, 1987)

Working Girl Blues (Univ. of Illinois Press)

Born in June, 1935, and raised in West Virginia, Hazel Dickens grew up the eighth of 11 children. Her father played banjo, drove trucks, and preached the gospel in a Baptist church. When she was 19, she moved to Baltimore to make a living working in factories, and to try to help support her very poor family.

Together with her siblings, she began attending music festivals, where she met and formed a group with Mike Seeger. She became an instrumental presence in the local folk and bluegrass scene, playing with several bands in the areas around Washington, D.C.

She also began working with Seeger's wife Alice Gerrard, with whom she recorded several early feminist folk songs and old time tunes. Together, they also toured extensively before splitting in 1973. Since then, she's recorded a number of albums and contributed her work to several films, including Harlan County USA and With Babies and Banners.

Hazel Dickens died at the age of 75 on April 22, 2011.