July 1996
The tribute to Hazel Dickens at the Smithson Institutions's Festival of American Folklife yesterday was one of the greatest evenings of music and respect for an individual and their work that I have seen in my years around this music.
Hazel Dickens: A Life's Work was a beautifully put together tribute to a wonderful and talented woman. Kate Rinzler, the Smithsonian, and MC Bill Vernon did a totally classy job as did all the performers.
This was a night to remember, one of love and respect for a person and her music and for the love and soul and support she has brought to bluegrass and old-time music.
Hazel's singing was as strong or stronger than any time I have heard her, powerful and emotive, sensitive and moving, and full of truth.
It was also a celebration of the love and vision of her close friend Ralph Rinzler who did so much for bluegrass and roots musics in general during his lifetime. His influence was noticeable throughout the evening.
For those of us who were there, this will be an evening that will live with us for many, many years. It was that special.
Ken Irwin, Rounder Records
Ralph Rinzler and Hazel Dickens, two trailblazing American originals, crossed paths frequently during the time they shared on Earth, a time that ended too soon with Ralph's death on July 1, 1994. Two years later, an audience gathered at the Washington Mall -- in the shadow of the Smithsonian Institute where Ralph spent his final and most productive years -- to celebrate his tireless efforts to promote bluegrass and old-time music, and to honor Hazel Dickens, the great traditional bluegrass singer and pioneer of women's rights inside and outside of music. More than four hours of music and reminiscences by many of today's top performers, including Hazel herself, provided ample evidence of the far-reaching influence of both Rinzler and Dickens.
The evening kicked off, appropriately, with a glimpse of the traditional roots of bluegrass as sung by Ginny Hawker and Kay Justice, two fine singers from Hazel's home state of West Virginia, accompanied by Tracy Schwarz on fiddle. The appearance of several excellent women traditional singers from West Virginia on the program, including union organizer Elaine Purkey, seemed particularly to delight Hazel, who broke out in a visible grin as Purkey bit into "Coal Mining Woman," written by Hazel and recorded by her in the early 1980s.
Many women in bluegrass today have cited Hazel as a role model, and it seemed fitting that the evening encompassed fine sets by Laurie Lewis and The Grant Street Band, and The Lynn Morris Band, who performed their current hit "Mama's Hand" penned by Hazel. Hazel's first singing partner, Alice Gerrard, sang the beautiful and touching "Agate Hill," written at the time of her own mother's death, before being joined by Hazel to knock out some powerful vocals. Kate Brislin and her husband Jody Stecher did a wonderful group of old-time songs in a style completely traditional-sounding yet totally their own. The Dry Branch Fire Squad offered a very energetic, musical, and characteristically entertaining set, although given the evening's emphasis on great women traditional singers, it would have been nice to hear a lead vocal from their superb singer Suzanne Thomas, who remained largely in the background on this occasion.
The James King Band played and sang some immensely powerful traditional Virginia bluegrass, and a reconstructed version of The Johnson Mountain Boys, Dudley Connell, David McLaughlin, Tom Adams, and Marshall Wilborne, selected as Hazel's backup band, performed a beautiful set of their own, including a memorable version of "Dream of the Miner's Child" sung by Dudley Connell.
Hazel, taking the stage as Barry Mitterhoff augmented the backup band, received a standing ovation before launching into a magnificent set that included a particularly stirring rendition of her great "Coal Miner's Grave," with Dudley Connell joining on the choruses.
Throughout the evening, an extraordinary sense of community helped the music go beyond that which one would expect from an ordinary concert; two people who are no longer with us were quite present through their works and their family members. Ralph Rinzler's work has been carried on by his wife Kate, who deserves tremendous credit for creating and organizing the entire show. She could not have done a better job. A major part of the careers of both Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard was their participation in Anne Romaine's Southern Grassroots Revival Project, which not only fostered musical tradition, but worked with great effectiveness to break down racial barriers in the South. Anne Romaine died tragically last year of a ruptured appendix, but her daughter, Rita Marie, attended the entire concert under the watchful eyes of Hazel, Alice, Ginny, and Kay. The entire show was ably mc'd by veteran bluegrass announcer Bill Vernon.
At the end of the evening, members of all the groups assembled on stage for a grand finale. Jody Stecher kicked off Hazel's "Won't You Come and Sing For Me," and Hazel and Alice led in a tribute to Ralph Rinzler, "You've Been a Friend to Me."
It was quite a sight; as many as thirty musicians on stage playing and singing what any of us who knew Ralph might have been feeling:
"I'll ne'er forget, where I may go
Wherever I may be
If
ever I have had a friend
You've been a friend to me."
Peter K. Siegel, Henry Street Folklore, Brooklyn, NY
Both parts are reprinted with permission of the original authors.