*Born in Montcalm, W. Va. the 8th of 11 children. Supported herself since she was 16. Three of her brothers died from mining-related illnesses.
*Moved to Baltimore in the 1950s and worked in factories there.
*She and former singing partner, Alice Gerrard, identified with the women's movement of the 1960s with such songs as "Don't Put Her Down, You Helped Put Her There" and "Working Girl Blues."
*Her songs were featured in Barbara Kopple's Harlan County, USA(1976) and John Sayles' Matewan (1987)
*A friend of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) she often appeared at union rallies and benefits for striking miners.
*First woman to receive the International Bluegrass
Music Appreciation's Merit Award (1994)
*Recipient of Labor Heritage Foundation
Joe Hill Award (2003) and recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts (2011)
Working
Class
People
I've always said that if I have a religion, it's the working-class experience and what I feel for working-class people.
West
Virginia
West Virginia,
oh my home.
West Virginia,
where I belong.
In the dead of the night,
in the still and
the quiet,
I slip away like a bird in flight.
Back to those hills, the place that I call home.
"A troubadour of hard times whose raw, heartfelt songs about coal miners and the life of the downtrodden made her a revered figure in country and bluegrass music, died April 22, 2011 at the Washington Home hospice in the District of Columbia. She was 75 and had complications from pneumonia."
-- Matt Schudel,
Washington Post writer
Share the Lore.
Forward to a friend.
A pioneering woman of bluegrass and hardcore county music.
Born on June 1, 1935 in Mercer County, West Virginia coal country. Grew up in poverty.
.
"United we stand, divided we fall.
For every dime they give us
a battle must be fought."
Her songs influenced a generation of songwriters and musicians.
An authentic and forceful voice of the working class.
