Jean Ritche RIP

[George R. Lane]

Just saw on MSN as story about Jean Ritchie passing away at age 92. I know she has been discussed here before. Even though I am not totally familiar with her work, it is a said day for music.

[George R. Lane]

I forgot the link to the story. There is a nice video of her singing 'Barbary Allen".

http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/...ansBillboard11.

[Bob Clark]

NPR's All Things Considered had a nice spot on her life and her contributions to music today as well. Here's the link:

http://www.npr.org/2015/06/02/411533...olk-dies-at-92

[multidon]

A sad day indeed. I wonder how many folks here know how truly influential she was. She was a breath of fresh air when the music of our country needed it a lot. When she moved from Kentucky to New York City singing genuine Applachian folk songs with that pure clear mountain voice, accompanied by her own dulcimer playing, well, people were stunned. It all sounded so strange to them, city folk had never heard anything like it. She single handedly brought back the Applachian dulcimer to the public view. Without her it may have disappeared completely. Likewise the hundreds of mountain songs she preserved and introduced to a much wider audience. She was part of a very small group that played the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village and started the folk revival in the 1950s.

The world of folk music, and music in general, owes a great debt to Jean Ritchie. Thank you, and rest in peace. You truly earned it.

[coletrickle]

Wrote "Black Waters", what I consider the best environmental protest song of them all. Here is one of my favorite versions of the song with Jody Stecher singing:

Without people like Ritchie, American Folk would not be the same.

[k0k0peli]

Jean Ritchie significantly drove me to traditional Appalachian music and musical modes. My first string instrument (age 15) was a dulcimer; I later built and sold some, and I plan to build more -- they'll be mutant variants, but fun. (Double-neck dulcimer; banjo-dulcimer; resonator dulcimer. Shoot me now.) She's a major influence in my life and I'll miss her dearly.

[Jeff Hildreth]

Likewise it was Jean Ritchie who led me to the dulcimer. I built several in the mid to late 60's.

She was a genuine folk singer who brought on a resurgence of an all but unknown tradition outside the Appalachias.

RIP

[Marcus CA]

She single handedly brought back the Applachian dulcimer to the public view. Without her it may have disappeared completely. Likewise the hundreds of mountain songs she preserved and introduced to a much wider audience.

The world of folk music, and music in general, owes a great debt to Jean Ritchie. Thank you, and rest in peace. You truly earned it.

She's a major influence in my life and I'll miss her dearly.

I bought my first dulcimer in the mid-70's, having Jean Ritchie, Richard Farina, and Joni Mitchell lure me in. I checked out Ritchie's dulcimer instruction book from the library, read it, and then went to a music store in Claremont to try one out. It was love at first strum. Her book was as clear as her voice and her playing. She was the real deal.

[allenhopkins]

A real link between the musical traditions of Appalachia, and the Northern urban folk audience. Her tenure as director of Folk Music Week at Pinewoods Camp in MA was incredibly influential in making that one of the most important foci for interaction between "revivalists" and the "real deal" traditional musicians.

Our Rochester folk club, Golden Link, booked her for our little Turtle Hill festival in a few years ago, in her mid-80's. She told us she was capable of one concert set and one workshop, and that's what she gave us, both done with great energy and musicality. What impressed me more, though, was that she sat with her husband for hours listening to others' performances, including our local musicians -- evidently interested, supportive, and involved, after nearly 60 years of involvement in folk music.

Her annual weekend get-togethers at her home near New York City, which included many members of the NYC folk club, continued until just a few years ago. Wherever she was, she was a catalyst for traditional music. At Golden Link's sing-around tonight, there were four or five Appalachian dulcimers, in some cases brought by people who don't usually play dulcimer. We did some of her songs, reminisced a bit; it was the "veterans" there who remembered her, and tried to explain to newer members why she was important. One of the dulcimerists played Go Tell Aunt Rhody, and that simple children's tune got everyone singing.

Jean will definitely be missed, but there's no doubting her influence and legacy.

[k0k0peli]

I bought my first dulcimer in the mid-70's, having Jean Ritchie, Richard Farina, and Joni Mitchell lure me in. I checked out Ritchie's dulcimer instruction book from the library, read it, and then went to a music store in Claremont to try one out. It was love at first strum. Her book was as clear as her voice and her playing. She was the real deal.

My first dulcimer was made by Charles Chase who owned and ran the Folk Music Center (FMC) in Claremont. I spent many hours there when it was a little cottage across from the train/trolley station, before Charles and his wife Dorothy (who taught my first wife to play guitar) moved it to the storefront on Yale Ave. Hey, we started in the same place! Just different decades.

Side note: The Chases also ran a folk music coffee shop on weekend evenings, the Golden Ring. Most out-of-town players hung at the FMC before shows. I spent a magical afternoon listening to Doc Watson tuning every string instrument (including autoharps but excluding koto) by ear while softly telling stories. Joan Baez had a house nearby so I ran into the Fariñas and Dylan there too when any of their buds played the Ring. Yeah, I jammed on dulcimer with Dylan! Badly, though.

[JeffD]

An early video

[CharlieKnuth]

She was a musical pioneer in so many ways. She went to England to do field research and recordings, wrote songs when it women songwriters weren't accepted (wrote under the name of Than Allen) and performed on the dulcimer. I got to see her perform once and what a great experience that was. I enjoyed her book on her experiences growing up in Appalachia. She lived a full life and will be greatly missed.

[JEStanek]

May she rest in piece. I had the pleasure of seeing her, her son (in photo), and several others perform in a workshop at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2008. Kathy Matea was there promoting her album Coal and she was star struck to share the stage with Jean.

Jean was a treasure. Thankfully we have her recordings and books.

[Tavy]

Another of the "originals" lost.

Probably like everyone else I was introduced to her music via the "L&N": no question she wrote some brilliant and moving folk songs, and will be sorely missed.

[Bob A]

Richard Farina 1966
David Schnaufer 2006
Jean Ritchie 2015

RIP

[Nick Royal]

When I was working at UC-Santa Cruz, we had Jean Ritchie come to sing a number of times. One time I was teaching a class on American Folk Music and she came for two weeks, with her husband, George Pickow. She led classes; and George helped some of the students build dulcimers. A wonderful singer, with a great sense of humor.

[PaulVA]

I'm currently reading the bio of Doc Watson. Jean was a good friend of Doc and a great help to him in getting his performing career established in the New York folk scene in the early 1960's. She performed with him in those days as Doc made the initial appearances that would lead to critical acclaim and the establishment of his long and successful career as a professional musician . She helped many others in the same way over her incredibly enduring career.

[Caleb]

I'll tell you what I'd like to see. Why don't these radio, news and NPR types honor these folks while they're still alive, rather than scramble together a tribute the day after someone dies? It's not always possible because unexpected things happen, but it's not hard to tell who in the folk/blues/BG or whatever genre is getting up there in years. It just always seems a bit of a waste to me. Just think how a Johnny Gimble or Jean Ritchie might've been encouraged by reading comments and tributes while they still could. I get why we do things the way we do, but it just seems out of order.

[multidon]

What is even sadder is that her death was largely ignored by the large mass media outlets. NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CNN, I saw nothing. Not only no tribute, no mention. The only media outlet that seemed to care was NPR.

[k0k0peli]

What is even sadder is that her death was largely ignored by the large mass media outlets. NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CNN, I saw nothing. Not only no tribute, no mention. The only media outlet that seemed to care was NPR.

Possibly because one needs something like a soul to appreciate the music, and the folks running the commercial media lack such.

[JEStanek]

Bemoaning what makes the national news is kinda crazy, to me.... I don't even watch broadcast news... I get my news on NPR during my commute to work.

I also think folks like Jean had plenty of recognition of what they have accomplished during their lives. Certainly, this was the case when Kathy Mattea shared the stage with Jean. Kathy (arguably a much more successful (commercially) performer) was just awestruck and gushed about Jean. There was no shortage of people in the audience who tried to have a little piece of Jean's time to share how much they love and were influenced by her. Sadly, I think we ALL make the mistake of thinking there will be a little more time for those aging musicians for us to see them "one more time." In truth, it doesn't always work out that way.

Remarkable people die everyday. My parents, good friends, memorable teachers... We all end up leaving this world. Lets work on making it a better place, even if only for a a few people we can influence.

I think the best way to keep Jean alive is by sharing her music and causes with the next generation of kids who like our music. This isn't just cultural ambassadorship, it is stewardship.

Jamie