April 22, 2011

"The sound of the mountains in the 19th century."

Hazel Dickens. RIP.

16 comments:

brian said...

She was a Rebel Girl. I'm proud to fight for freedom with a rebel girl.

vbspurs said...

I'd be lying if I said I knew who she was before this post, but those NPR videos really brought her to life, for me.

RIP Hazel Dickens.

PS: When did these studio portraits, with the subject's neck arched to one side, stop being photographed?

Cheers,
Victoria

Titus said...

Mary, you and Meade have to HAVE to go to Canoe Bay in Chetek Wisconsin this summer.

You will absolutely love it.

You will not believe you are in Wisconsin.

Patrick said...

And so the torch is passed to Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and the Peasall Sisters. RIP.

Charles said...

fly away little pretty bird

ricpic said...

REMEMBER

The sound of freedom,
Born in the hills;
To those who remember
The sound yet thrills.


Get ou' the way for ol' Miz Dickens,
Too late to kill her chickens,
Dinner's over supper's cookin'
Ol' Miz Dickens jus' stan' there lookin'.

Johanna Lapp said...

I saw Hazel perform with Kathy Mattea a few summers ago. Kathy's last album was a collection of coal mining songs, including at least one from Hazel, quite stark and very moving.

Patrick said...

Kathy Mattea's "Coal" is an excellent album. Would havebeen cool to see her perform it, along with Hazel.

lemondog said...

We are rapidly losing our treasure of people who directly experienced and have memories of the Great Depression and WW2. Everyone has a story.

Ask questions while you can.

William said...

She lived long enough to hear Dylan's Christmas album and can go to her maker with an untroubled soul.

Henry said...

John Sayles featured Dickens prominently in the movie Matewan. Here she is (starting @1:48), singing "Deliver us from the gathering storm", a song that sets up the climactic scenes of the movie.

It sends chills up my spine.

Insufficiently Sensitive said...

I have shared some good songs and music with Hazel Dickens. She was a prize of many dimensions, and through her life carried it all off with none of the pretensions of today's professional entertainers. Down to earth, humble, supremely creative and competent. She is sorely missed.

Ann Althouse said...

(I deleted comments from Fort because they were not about Hazel Dickens or anything close.)

The Dude said...
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The Dude said...
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Scott said...

Not to be confused with Hazel Dicken Garcia.