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Across the Blue Ridge #151 - Hazel & Alice, Classic Old-Time & Bluegrass

Courtesy Free Dirt Records
Alice Gerrard (l.) and Hazel Dickens in the 1960s. On this week’s Across the Blue Ridge, we hear selections from the new album, Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard - Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969. We hear Dickens and Gerrard shaping their signature sound in practice sessions as a pioneering women’s bluegrass duo.

Alice Gerrard, International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame inductee, recently discovered tapes from the 1960s of her and Hazel Dickens honing their duo sound in practice. Free Dirt Records has released a collection of cuts from these 1965-69 recordings, and they provide a fascinating glimpse into the creative behind-the-scenes work of these two revered bluegrass trail blazers for women. We several cuts on this week's show, plus a wonderful selection of classic old-time and gospel music from the Slate Mountain Ramblers, Clarence Ashley, Fred Cockerham, The Whitetop Mountain Band, Elizabeth Cotten, Lightnin' Wells and others. 

Playlist

  1. Julie Ann Johnson
    Slate Mountain Ramblers
    Family Tradition
    Slate Mountain Ramblers
     
  2. I'll Meet You In The Morning
    Slate Mountain Ramblers
    Family Tradition
    Slate Mountain Ramblers
     
  3. Five and Dime Rag
    Alan Kaufman & Don Stratton
    All In Good Time
    Kaufman & Stratton
     
  4. Black Creek
    Alan Kaufman & Don Stratton
    All In Good Time
    Kaufman & Stratton
     
  5. Dark Holler
    Clarence Ashley
    Greenback Dollar
    County
     
  6. The Mountaineer's Courtship
    Ernest Stoneman, Iva Frost & Eck Dunford
    The Bristol Sessions V.2
    CMH
     
  7. Cynthia
    Fred Cockerham
    Sunny Home In Dixie
    Michael Fishback
     
  8. Break 1 - Twinkle Little Star
    Lauchlin Shaw
    Going Down To Raleigh
    PineCone - Piedmont Council of Traditional Music
     
  9. This Little Light Of Mine
    Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard
    Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes 1965-1969
    Free Dirt
     
  10. No Telephone In Heaven
    Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard
    Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes 1965-1969
    Free Dirt
     
  11. Bye Bye Love
    Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard
    Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes 1965-1969
    Free Dirt
     
  12. I'll Wash Your Love From My Heart
    Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard
    Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes 1965-1969
    Free Dirt
     
  13. Cotton Mill Man
    Jim & Jesse
    The Old Dominion Masters
    Pinecastle
     
  14. Wake Up Little Susie
    The Everly Brothers
    The Everly Brothers' Best
    Cadence
     
  15. Fiddle Patch
    Bobby Hicks
    Fiddle Patch
    Rounder
     
  16. Break 2 - Old Sally Goodin
    Bruce Greene
    River In Time
    hellbendre press
     
  17. Blow, Big Wind
    Laurie Lewis & Her Bluegrass Pals
    Laurie Lewis & Her Bluegrass Pals
    Rounder
     
  18. I'm Going Away
    Elizabeth Cotton
    Shake Sugaree
    Smithsonian Folkways
     
  19. If That's The Way You Feel
    Whitetop Mountain Band
    Loafer's Dream
    Mountain Roads Records
     
  20. Honky Tonkin'
    Hank Williams
    I Ain't Got Nothin' But Time
    Polydor
     
  21. I'll See You In My Dreams
    Lightnin' Wells
    Shake 'Em On Down
    Lightnin' Wells
Former 88.5 WFDD News Director Paul Brown founded Across the Blue Ridge at WFDD in the late 1980s. It was an instant hit, and was broadcast on WFDD for more than a decade until Paul left to become an executive editor, producer, reporter, and world newscaster at NPR in Washington, DC. Now Paul is back in his beloved Blue Ridge region, his journalism and storytelling skills honed better than ever. He's ready to present more music, share discussion with more interesting characters, and be your friend and guide in discovery. Paul is actively involved in today's acoustic music scene, crisscrossing the region and the country as a teacher, performer, and interviewer.

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